Novak Djokovic has earned his 24th Grand Slam trophy after taking down Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in Sunday's US Open men's singles final. The Serbian star's win officially tied him with Margaret Court for the most major singles titles ever.
"To make history in this sport is something truly remarkable and special, in every possible way," Djokovic said after the match. "In every possible meaning of the word special. It's hard to describe it with words."
Djokovic got his revenge from the 2021 US Open title match when Medvedev beat him in straight sets. This is Djokovic's fourth trophy at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and he is now officially the oldest man to win the US Open in the professional era at 36 years old.
Clearly, Djokovic was prepared for the occasion as everyone in his box put on white jackets with the number 24 embroidered after his win. Under his jacket, Djokovic wore a T-shirt with an image showing him and Kobe Bryant, who was a close friend of his and famously wore No. 24 for the Los Angeles Lakers.
"I had the childhood dream when I was 7 or 8: I wanted to become the best player in the world and win the Wimbledon trophy," Djokovic said. "That was the only thing I wanted. But I started to dream new dreams and set new objectives, new goals. I never imagined that I would be standing here talking with you about 24 slams."
After landing in New York as the world No. 2, Djokovic will be back at No. 1 in the next rankings. He has led the rankings for a record 389 weeks throughout his career.
Djokovic won the first set with relative ease, but his opponent gave him a true battle in the second. That second set lasted one hour and 45 minutes, which happened to be longer than Djokovic's entire first round match against Alexander Muller.
Medvedev took a medical timeout to get a massage on his left shoulder ahead of the third set. The Russian star then won the first game, but Djokovic tied it up when Medvedev took a fall after tripping over his own feet. Djokovic walked over the net to help him up, but Medvedev waved him away and got up after a few more seconds of catching his breath.
Although he had looked tired in the middle of the second set, it seemed as if winning the tiebreak had injected new energy into Djokovic. He soon found a 3-1 lead in the last set and kept that momentum going to stop Medvedev's valiant effort at a comeback, securing his fourth career US Open title.
"I want to ask Novak, what are you still doing here?" Medvedev joked after the match.
Medvedev, 27, said beating Djokovic in the 2021 US Open has been the pinnacle of his career so far. Djokovic then reassured him that there would be many more accomplishments for him.
"I know there is a lot more for you to achieve in the future years. Good luck with that," Djokovic told Medvedev. "You will win more slams, no doubt."
