Novak Djokovic found a creative way to congratulate Aryna Sabalenka on her US Open win and the record 24-time Grand Slam champion also didn't fail to acknowledge Jannik Sinner's triumph.
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On Saturday, the WTA world No. 2 lifted her third Grand Slam title after beating Jessica Pegula 7-5 7-5 in the women's final. During the match, one of the things that drew attention was the tiger tattoo on the head of the Belarusian's fitness coach Jason Stacy.
Knowing that Sabalenka has a few tiger tattoos and that she feels a connection to the animal because it reflects "my aggressive attitude while playing tennis," it wasn't hard to figure out that it was some kind of a pre-match deal made between the player and the coach. And when reacting to her win, Djokovic made sure to bring up the tiger.
"Congratulations Tigress," the Serbian tennis superstar captioned his Instagram Story.
When it comes to the celebratory message that was sent out to the Italian, the 37-year-old congratulated him through an Instagram Story and also wrote in one of the comment sections: "Bravoooo Jannik."
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Sabalenka explains why her coach showed up with a tiger tattoo
After the Belarusian became a US Open champion, she was asked about her coach Stacy who went viral on social media. That's when the former world No. 1 shared that the coach promised to do that if she made the final at Flushing Meadows.
"Jason promised me if I make it to the finals, he's going to make it, he's going to put it on his forehead. I wish it would be a little bit lower, like right here (gesturing towards her forehead) it would be cooler right?" she explained.
Meanwhile, Sabalenka highlighted that she was extremely proud following her win in New York. In the past, the current world No. 2 was close to winning the final Grand Slam of the year a couple of times - she picked up back-to-back semifinals in 2021 and 2022 before finishing as runner-up last year. That 2023 final loss was extremely painful because the 26-year-old made a dominant start and easily won the first but then Coco Gauff created a big comeback.
"I remember all those tough losses in the past here. Its going to sound easy but never give up on your dreams and just keep trying, keep working hard. If youre really working hard and youre sacrificing everything for a dream, youre going to get it one day. Im just super proud of myself. I never say that, but really guys, Im super proud of myself, Im proud of my team that no matter what, no matter which situation we were facing, this season and in the past, we were able to go through it and get all those beautiful trophies," Sabalenka recounted.
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Sinner stepped up big time and he is now major competition to Djokovic
After a very strong end to 2023, the question was if the Italian would continue with his rise in 2024 and potentially become a Major champion and the world No. 1. And it didn't take long to get an answer to that question after the 23-year-old beat Djokovic in the Australian Open final and went on to become a Slam winner in Melbourne.
Since then, Sinner has also become the top-ranked player in the game and now is also set to finish the year with two Majors won.
Yeah, it was a great run, no, overall. For sure winning the first Grand Slam of the year gives you confidence, it gives you, you know, good feelings. But in the other way, you always have to work, you have to -- it never stops. It's like you always keep going and keep going. Until now I didn't have so much time off to say, okay, you have done a great job (smiling)," Sinner said.
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"Yeah, you know, it's big thanks also to my team, because we always try some new work, some new things out, you know, tactically, how can you play better against certain opponents, how do you work on some shots, whatever you feel better or not, I was a lot in the gym, because I knew physically I still had to improve and I still have to improve a lot.
"No, this is all part of sacrifices you make for an eventual future. So we will keep working. I mean, in my mind, I know that I'm not perfect and I will never be perfect, but, you know, we always try to evolve in my game. Then after my career I can say, okay, l've done everything possible to be at 100%.
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Meanwhile, the 37-year-old Serb completed a season without a Grand Slam won for the first time since 2017. Next year, Djokovic will certainly be hoping to return to winning Majors but Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will also have something to say.
