Novak Djokovic paid a touching tribute to his late friend Kobe Bryant after winning a historic 24th Grand Slam title at the US Open. The Serb donned a t-shirt that said ‘Mamba Forever’ with a photo of the pair on the front, and a number 24 – Bryant’s jersey number – on the back.
Djokovic defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3 to capture his fourth trophy in Flushing Meadows and – more significantly – his 24th Grand Slam title. The 36-year-old now stands alone as the only player in the Open Era to win that many Major titles and ties Margaret Court’s all-time record.
The Serb has often marked his milestones with a special piece of clothing – donning a 23 jacket when he broke the men’s Grand Slam record in Paris earlier this year. And this time around, his choice of outfit had extra meaning as he paid tribute to late basketball icon Kobe Bryant.
There were huge cheers from the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd when Djokovic took the special shirt out of the wrapper and put it on, pointing to the photo of himself and Bryant along the front. And the applause kept on coming when he spun around, pointing to the number 24 on his back.
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During his trophy speech, Djokovic explained why he wanted to use the occasion to remember the memory of his friend. “I thought of doing this t-shirt eventually if I get a chance to win the tournament, it was about seven days ago,” he said.
“I didn’t share it with anyone until a few days ago when I asked my people to help me out to make this shirt.” Opening up on their bond, he continued: “Kobe was a close friend, we chatted a lot about the winners’ mentality. When I was struggling with an injury and trying to make my comeback, work my way back to the top of the game, he was one of the people that I relied on the most. He was always there for any kind of counsel, advice, any kind of support in the most friendly way.”
Touching on Bryant’s passing and his legacy, Djokovic added: “So of course what happened a few years ago, him and his daughter passing, hurt me deeply.