Graf stopped at 22, as did Rafael Nadal, and Serena at 23.

"Winning Wimbledon was my only goal when I was a kid. I never imagined I'd be here and talk about my 24th Grand Slam title," the champion said in the middle of the world's largest tennis stadium, Arthur Ashe Court in Flushing Meadows.

"In the last two years, I started to believe in it and I said to myself +why not try?+", he added, after his victory against the Russian Daniil Medvedev (3rd in the world) 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.

Novak Djokovic became the most successful player in a Men's Grand Slam when he won his 23rd title at Roland Garros in June, surpassing Nadal.

At 36, he will become world No. 1 again on Monday and will begin a record 390th week at this place.

Novak Djokovic wears a T-shirt in tribute to the late basketball player Kobe Bryant, September 10, 2023 after his victory in the final of the US Open © ANGELA WEISS / AFP

If he had everything planned, tracksuit jackets flocked with the number 24 for him and all the members of his box, t-shirt tribute to Kobe Bryant – the NBA champion who died in 2020 in a helicopter crash – with which he was sure to make a hit with the American public, he still had to beat Medvedev.

Crushed

The same one who had deprived Djokovic in 2021 of one of the greatest sporting feats: he had beaten him in the final of the US Open where the Serb was only three sets away from achieving the calendar Grand Slam, after winning the first three Majors of the season.

And if the Djoker had been crushed by the weight of history two years ago, putting up little resistance to the Russian, Sunday the two men fought at the highest level and without mercy.

Novak Djokovic steps over the net to help his opponent Daniil Medvedev, who fell to the ground during the final of the US Open on September 10, 2023 in New York © TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP

To the point that both found themselves more or less voluntarily on the ground during the match, lying on their backs to seek their breath.

We also saw Djokovic lean repeatedly on his knees to breathe a little. And at the change of sides after a terrible second set, Djokovic went out for his usual toilet break and Medvedev took a medical timeout to have his left shoulder massaged on court.

At the resumption, the elder seemed to want to try everything for the whole, to avoid getting bogged down in extra sets.

Novak Djokovic greets his opponent Daniil Medvedev after the US Open final on September 10, 2023 in New York © ANGELA WEISS / AFP

So, with his characteristic humour, upon receiving the finalist's trophy, Medvedev turned to his winner of the day and asked, "But what are you still doing here?"

"Woahhh"

"I have twenty titles to my name and I think I'm having a good career. You have 24 Grand Slam titles... Woahhh," he added.

He can always blame himself – if he doesn't, his coach Gilles Cervara will do it for him – for having been so stubborn in his position of return of service so far from the baseline. As a result, he allowed Djokovic to make serves/volleys, which are not his specialty but which brought him twenty points with a reduced effort, the equivalent of five games!

With this fourth US Open, Djokovic became the first player to win three of the four Majors in a season four times (2011, 2015, 2021 and 2023).

Novak Djokovic kisses his daughter after winning the US Open final, September 10, 2023 © ANGELA WEISS / AFP

He kissed his daughter at the edge of the court and then went up into the stands where he fell into the arms of actor Matthew McConaughey who was in his box, then his parents, son and wife. Then he came back down to the court and put on a T-shirt with the slogan "Mamba for ever" around a photo showing him next to the former NBA player.

"I thought about making this t-shirt seven days ago, in case I win. Kobe was a close friend. He was there for me when I wasn't well. 24 is the number he wore when he became an NBA and Lakers legend. So I thought it would be fine today," Djokovic said. He, too, is now a legend.

© 2023 AFP