Updated January 28th, 2020 at 21:57 IST
Novak Djokovic honours Kobe Bryant by wearing SPECIAL 'KB' jacket with No 8 and 24: WATCH
Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic adorned a green jacket with the initials 'KB' and the numbers 8 and 24 in his Australian Open match with Milos Raonic.
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Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic defeated Canada's 32nd seed Milos Raonic in the quarter-final of the Australian Open 2020. During the start and the end of the match, Novak Djokovic was spotted wearing a green jacket with a heartfelt homage to the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant.
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Barcelona maintain minute's silence in honour of Kobe Bryant
Prior to today’s training session, the team held a minute of silence in memory of @kobebryant and his daughter, Gianna. pic.twitter.com/KwuXxPwhPc
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
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Novak Djokovic pays heartfelt tribute to Kobe Bryant during Australian Open 2020
Seven-time Australian Open champion @DjokerNole honored the late Kobe Bryant with the basketball icon's initials and jersey numbers, plus a ❤️.
— TENNIS (@Tennis)
Djokovic is currently on serve with Milos Raonic, leading 3-2 in the first set.
Follow #AusOpen scores: https://t.co/Wd83peE6AA pic.twitter.com/hcknW8rfDZ
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Before the intense quarter-final encounter against Raonic, Novak Djokovic was spotted wearing a green jacket with the initials 'KB" stitched on the outside. In addition to that, Novak Djokovic paid tribute to the five-time NBA champion by engraving the 8 and 24 numbers on his jacket as well. In an interesting interview with ESPN just 24 hours before the death of Kobe Bryant, Novak Djokovic opened up about how Kobe Bryant had been a mentor for him. Novak Djokovic explains how Kobe helped him mentally and emotionally come back from injuries and self-doubts and encouraged him to believe in himself and his abilities.
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A multitude of public support has poured out from figures outside the NBA including:
— Graham Cox (@vanislandgee)
Obama
Alicia Keys
Tiger Woods
Drew Brees
Alex Ovechkin
Novak Djokovic
Coco Gauff
Tom Brady
Neymar Jr.
Proof Kobe Bryant was bigger than basketball #KobeRIP pic.twitter.com/1xw3FjSvC0
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Published January 28th, 2020 at 17:56 IST