On Sept.10th, 2023, Novak Djokovic won his 24th Grand Slam at the US Open after a total of 72 appearances in Grand Slams. He has set the highest record number of Grand Slam wins, 24, which puts him above Serena Williams, who has 23. This year’s US Open was especially significant because it marked 50 years of equal pay since Billie Jean King, a former twelve-Grand Slam champion, defeated Bobby Riggs in three straight sets in the “Battle of the Sexes.”
The winners of the men’s and women’s final each get 3 million dollars. Novak played against the Russian, Daniil Medvedev, who has won one Grand Slam. Medvedev last won the Grand Slam at the US Open in 2021, and has appeared in a total of 5 grand slam finals. For sixteen weeks, Medvedev held the position of the number one ranked player.
The match on Sept. 10th lasted three hours and 16 minutes, and after it was over, Djokovic sobbed because of his ‘overwhelming happiness.’ The match score was 6-3, 7-6, and 6-3, which Djokovic won in straight sets. His wife and both of his kids were there to celebrate with him. For the third time in his career, Djokovic has made it to the finals of all four Grand Slams in a year, but was defeated at Wimbledon by Carlos Alcaraz, the former number one in the world. But after the match, Djokovic did something unexpected – he gave tribute to Kobe Bryant.
Because this was his 24 grand slam, Djokovic commemorated Kobe Bryant because 24 was Kobe’s number. Djokovic has a shirt underneath his jacket, and when he was being interviewed, he took off his sweater and showed it to the crowd, resulting in a wave of emotion. His shirt read “Mamba forever,” and on the front of it was a picture of Djokovic and Kobe with the number 24 on the back. Djokovic talked about how he and Kobe were close friends, and they would talk about the idea of a “winner mentality” when they were injured or trying to get back on the court.
This was also a unique US Open for Djokovic because it is his first US Open win since 2018, and he could not play in many slams since 2019 because of his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Many grand slams, including the Australian Open and the US Open, required their players to be vaccinated in order to compete. So, when Djokovic wanted to play in the Australian Open in 2022, he was detained in Australia, eventually deported, and given a three year travel ban. This ban was overturned in late 2022 and Djokovic was able to play, and win, in the 2023 Australian Open.
However, even today, many people remain skeptical about Djokovic because of his beliefs on vaccination, but at this US Open final, there were nevertheless many people cheering for him.
Overall, Djokovic’s 24th Grand Slam win was significant for many reasons, but especially because the US Open celebrated 50 years of equal pay and especially because Djokovic designated his win to Kobe Bryant, who sadly passed away in 2020.
