Djokovic dedicated the trophy to Kobe Bryant

Grand Slam record holder Novak Djokovic won the US Open for the 4th time in his career after defeating Daniil Medvedev 6:3, 7:6(5), 6:3 in the final. The Serbian is back at the top of the world rankings and brought much joy to his compatriots hours after the painful loss to Germany in the contention of the world basketball title.

"I do not know where to start. I will probably repeat myself, but I just believed in my childhood dream and reached the highest level in this sport. I overcame many difficulties in the 90s. My successes are the result of the joint effort of my entire family and especially my parents. Tennis is a complicated and expensive sport. My parents made a lot of sacrifices to give me a chance to grow. It was a matter of choice.

We took a big risk. My family believed in me and this trophy is as much mine as it is theirs," said Djokovic during the award ceremony. "It's incredible to be a part of history, to create it. It's hard to find the right words. At 7-8 years old, I wanted to play in the big tournaments and become number 1. When a person grows up, he sets new goals, has new dreams. It's exciting to be able to make them happen," continued Nole.

He also showed off the special t-shirt with the face of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, to whom he dedicated his 24th Grand Slam trophy. "Kobe was a close friend of mine. He's always talked a lot about what it's like to have the mentality of a champion. I learned a lot from him, he gave me valuable advice. His death shocked everyone. He became a legend of the Los Angeles Lakers and I decided to honor his memory with this shirt," explained Djokovic.