Djokovic pays tribute to Kobe Bryant by winning his 24th Grand Slam

As soon as he won his fourth title US Opendefeating Russian Daniil Medvedev by 3 sets to 1 this Sunday (10), in New York, Novak Djokovic He took out of his bag a shirt with the face of Kobe Bryant.

In the interview after the match, the Serbian explained that he and the former NBA player were close friends and that they constantly talked about the winning mentality, the Mamba Mentality, a champion philosophy that became the ‘rule of life’ for several high-performance athletes. , created by the star who died in January 2020.

“A few days ago, when I had the idea and had the possibility of winning the title, I asked for help to make the t-shirt,” said Djokovic, who printed the number 24 (his Grand Slam achievements) on the former Los Angeles Lakers athlete in celebration. to his personal overcoming, whether due to injuries or controversies in which he was involved off the court, preventing him from competing.

Djokovic congratulated Medvedev on his campaign in the tournament and said he was certain that the Russian would win Grand Slam titles. In 2021, the Russian beat the Serbian in New York.

Djokovic also took the opportunity to joke with Medvedev, who completed another year of marriage. “If I had known about this date, perhaps the result could have been different.”