Professional tennis star Novak Djokovic took some time out of his victory speech to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant after Djokovic captured his eighth Australian Open title on Sunday.
Djokovic said Bryant's death is a reminder to the world that moments with family and friends are precious, and said it is “important to be conscious and humble about things that are happening around you:”
Novak Djokovic pays tribute to Kobe Bryant after winning Australian Open: “This is a reminder to all of us that we should stick together more than ever. Be with our families, stay close to the people that love you, that care about you.”
— Bill Oram (@billoram) February 2, 2020
“Of course we are part of professional sport, we compete, we try our best. But obviously there are more important things in lite and it’s important to be conscious and humble about things that are happening around you.”
— Bill Oram (@billoram) February 2, 2020
Djokovic also expressed his emotions following one of his matches earlier in the week, wearing a jacket with Kobe's letters and numbers stitched across the side.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion opened up about his relationship with Bryant after news of the crash surfaced, suggesting Kobe played a pivotal role in helping him overcome injuries and confidence issues earlier in his career (via Kelsey Wilkie of The Daily Mail):
‘When I was going through the injury with my elbow and struggling to mentally and emotionally handle all of these different things that were happening to me and dropping in the rankings and then having to work my way up, he was one of the people who was really there for me to give me some very valuable advice and guidelines to kind of believe and trust in myself, trust the process that I'll be back,' he said on Saturday.
‘I'm very grateful to him for being there for me, for being very supportive. I love Kobe, who doesn't? He's an amazing guy and one of the best basketball players and athletes of all time.'
Bryant's message of dedication to craft is something that resonated with athletes and common citizens around the world, including Djokovic.
“Nole” hopes Kobe's death can serve as a springboard for more togetherness.
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