Naomi Osaka shares brilliant Kobe Bryant tribute after winning 2020 US Open

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Naomi Osaka won the 2020 US Open in style and had some great words for the late Kobe Bryant

Naomi Osaka picked up her third Grand Slam by winning the 2020 US Open.

The 22-year-old won her first Grand Slam at the 2018 US Open and she became a champion after two years.

It was a miracle that the organisers were able to hold the event after the coronavirus pandemic, but this was a fantastic slam.

Naomi Osaka celebrates with the trophy after winning her Women’s Singles final match against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus on Day Thirteen of the 2020 US Open (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

She faced off against Victoria Azarenka in the final and seemed down and out at one point. The Belarusian raced to a 6-1 win in the first set and was leading 2-0 in the second.

While Azarenka looked great for a Grand Slam win, Osaka dug deep and went on a crazy run to win the match 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Calling out to greatness

The new champion celebrated after the win and thanked a great for powering her through the tournament.

Osaka was shocked when the great Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in January 2020. Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others were killed in the tragedy.

Djokovic was not in the best of moods as he went emotional when asked a question regarding Kobe Bryant, his friend and NBA legend who passed away recently due to a helicopter crash. (Getty Images)

That affected many sport-stars across the world and Osaka has shared tributes to the former LA Lakers star several times.

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This time, she claimed that a #8 jersey of Kobe from his Lakers days was helping her through this.

Bryant is one of the greatest basketball players ever and was taken away far too early.

The 2020 US Open has also been an emotional journey for Osaka. She took a decision to wear the names of several blacks killed in violence in the US over shootings by the police mostly.

Osaka has been one of the most vocal sport-stars speaking about the Black Lives Matters movement. However, she didn’t let the emotions get the better of her on the court. She made a huge statement by wearing the masks but was a worthy winner of the competition.

Naomi Osaka of Japan talks in a post match interview wearing a mask with the name of Trayvon Martin printed on it after her Women’s Singles fourth round match win against Anett Kontaveit (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

NBA great LeBron James also congratulated the new champion:

Osaka made a statement on and off the court, and it was great to see a sportsperson take a strong stand in these difficult times.

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Saiyed Adeem Karim

Ditching a corporate job to follow a dream isn't easy, but when football comes calling, who can say no? Been following the beautiful game since 1998. Liverpool addict, F1 fanatic!

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