He visibly sobbed while lying on the court at the conclusion of the 3-hour, 16-minute match before running over to his box, which included members of his family, his team and actor Matthew McConaughey. With his win Sunday, Novak Djokovic became the first player in the Open era with 24 Grand Slam championships. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images While a rematch with the Spaniard in the final seemed the likely outcome for much of this tournament, revenge against Medvedev was sweet. In 2021, the last time Djokovic competed in New York, he came to the US Open needing the title to capture a calendar grand slam. Instead, he was humbled in straight sets by Medvedev in the final. Djokovic’s refusal to take a Covid vaccine meant that he was barred from travelling to the US for last year’s edition.

Djokovic said he came up with the idea about a week ago as a way to honor his friend. He said he received advice on his own career from Bryant, who died in 2020 in a helicopter crash that also killed his daughter Gianna and seven others. I would definitely sign right away the paper if somebody would tell me I would win three out of four and play Wimbledon finals,” Djokovic said.Djokovic also pulled on a T-shirt which paid tribute to NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his friend who was killed in a helicopter crash in 2020 and wore 24 in his playing days. To make history [in] this sport is just something truly remarkable and special, obviously, in every possible way, in every possible meaning of the word," the second-seeded Djokovic said on the court following the win. "It's hard to describe the words." In addition, all data is securely transmitted using SSL encoding and we do not save bank or credit card information.

The constant pressure led to another break point for Djokovic in the seventh game, but Medvedev hung on to hold as Djokovic tumbled on to the court after an energy-sapping 31-shot rally. The odds were pretty much against me and my family. It was not accessible, not affordable, but I fell in love with tennis," he said. There is a little regret that I didn't win that Wimbledon final. But, at the end of the day, I have so much more to be happier and content with than actually to regret something." NEW YORK -- Novak Djokovic defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 on Sunday to win the US Open and claim a historic 24th major championship, matching Margaret Court for the most Grand Slam singles titles in tennis history. This was Medvedev's fifth Grand Slam final, and he is now 1-4, with two losses to Djokovic and two to Rafael Nadal. Medvedev's one major victory came at that 2021 US Open.It was the latest record-setting milestone for Djokovic, who was already atop the men's Slam list and has now moved one major singles title ahead of Serena Williams to become the first player to win 24 in the Open era. Court also collected a total of 24, but 13 of those came before professionals were admitted to the Slam events. American former player Jeff Tarango hailed an "incredible moment" that "no-one will ever see again".