Djokovic: 'My parents sacrificed a lot for me to succeed'

"My country was engulfed in war in the 1990s," Djokovic said on the podium, after defeating Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final on September 10. "At that time, my parents had to sacrifice a lot to support me, because tennis at that time was very expensive. It was an inaccessible, expensive sport, but I loved it. No one in my family played tennis. racket, but everyone put absolute trust in me. Throughout the years, my parents, wife, children and team have always been there. This is my success as well as everyone's."

The 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 victory helped Djokovic repay his debt against Medvedev in the US Open final two years ago. The fourth championship at the US Open helped Djokovic increase his Grand Slam record to 24, two more than Rafael Nadal.

"Making history in this sport is an extremely special thing," Djokovic added. "In my childhood, I wished I was the best tennis player in the world and won Wimbledon. But over time, I began to dream new dreams, set new goals. I never imagined that I would stand here and talking about 24 Grand Slams. But in the last few years, I feel like I have a chance to go down in history. Why not take that chance?".

For the fourth time in his career, Djokovic won three Grand Slams in the same year. The 36-year-old tennis player has done this in 2011, 2015 and 2021. He holds all prestigious records in the tennis industry, from the number of Grand Slams (24), the number of Masters 1000 titles (39) to the number of weeks. ranked number one in the world (390).

Before entering history, Djokovic had a difficult period, struggling with injuries from 2017 to early 2018. At that time, he received a lot of help and advice from basketball legend Kobe Bryant - who The latter died in a plane crash in 2020. Djokovic paid tribute to Bryant by wearing a T-shirt with the American legend's image and the number 24 printed on it, after winning the US Open.

"Kobe was my best friend, the person I trusted the most, supported me a lot," Djokovic said about his late friend. "We talked a lot about the psychology of winners, when I was having difficulty due to injury and trying to return to the top. His departure hurt me a lot. 24 is my Grand Slam number. me and also the jersey number he wore for the Lakers, so I thought it would be great to pay tribute to him in this way."