US Open 2023 men's singles final: Novak Djokovic beats Daniil Medvedev to equal Open era slam singles titles record
After matching Margaret Court's tally of 24 Slam singles titles, Djokovic paid tribute to "close friend" Kobe Bryant and wore a T-shirt bearing a photo of the pair.
Tennis
Novak Djokovic defeated Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final on Sunday (10 September) to equal Margaret Court's record 24 Grand Slam singles titles in the Open era.
Djokovic won 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 to claim his fourth title at Flushing Meadows and avenge his defeat to the Russian in the 2021 final which denied him the coveted calendar Grand Slam.
The 36-year-old Serbian star is now two clear of Rafael Nadal's tally of 22 men's Slam singles titles with Roger Federer two further back on 20.
When asked afterwards what winning 24 Slam titles meant to him, Djokovic thanked his parents and his family for their sacrifices over the years and said, "This is your trophy as much as this is mine. This is your success as much as this is mine. I love you.
"I never imagined I would be here talking about 24 Slams but the last couple of years I realised I had a shot at history and why not grab it if it's presented."
He then unzipped his jacket to reveal a T-shirt bearing a photo of him and late basketball star Kobe Bryant - who famously wore number 24 - with the message "Mamba Forever".
Djokovic said, "I thought of doing this T-shirt if I won the tournament about seven days ago. I didn't share it with anyone up to a few days ago when I asked my people to help me out to make these shirts.
"Kobe was a close friend. We chatted a lot about the winner's mentality. When I was struggling with an injury and trying to make my comeback 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 advice or support in a friendly way. What happened with him and his daughter passing hurt me deeply.
"I thought 24 is the jersey he wore when he became a legend of Lakers and world basketball, so I felt it could be a nice symbolic thing to acknowledge him for all the things he's done."
This was Djokovic's return to the US Open after missing last year's tournament due to the federal government requiring foreign visitors to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Djokovic overcomes fatigue to make more history
Punishing baseline rallies were on the menu from the start but Medvedev's serve - which had occasionally let him down previously in the tournament - failed him straight away as he was broken to love in just the second game.
The third seed soon started to find his range from the back of the court with Djokovic employing serve-volley tactics to try and keep the rallies short.
Djokovic brought up two set points on Medvedev's serve, which the Russian saved, before converting the first on his own serve to take it 6-3 in 48 minutes.
At the start of the second set, Medvedev was struggling to hold serve and unable to win a point on his Serbian opponent's delivery.
That all changed in the eighth game as one gruelling rally ended with Djokovic, who lost the point, lying on his back gasping for breath before saving a break point.
The atmosphere was building inside Arthur Ashe Stadium with Medvedev, who knocked out defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals, perhaps sensing that Djokovic was there for the taking.
With the three-time champion serving at 5-6 and seemingly troubled by his left thigh, Medvedev won another long rally and brought up a set point which Djokovic saved with another serve-volley advance.
They went to a tiebreak and, at the end of the longest set of the tournament lasting well over an hour and a half, Medvedev netted a backhand to hand it to Djokovic 7-5.
As Djokovic went for a toilet break, Medvedev stayed on court to receive treatment on his left shoulder.
Medvedev received a verbal volley from his coach Gilles Cervara during the third game of the third set as he struggled to find an effective gameplan. And when Djokovic broke for a 3-1 lead, the match appeared to be over.
But then came a rare gift from the man from Belgrade with Medvedev breaking to 15 to stay alive.
It turned out to be a temporary blip as Djokovic broke straight back before holding for a 5-2 lead.
Medvedev held but he was only delaying the inevitable as Djokovic won three Slams in a calendar year for the fourth time having previously done so in 2011, 2015 and 2021.