The US open this past weekend was impressive.
The meteoric landing of Emma Raducanu was the main talking point, but there’s already been much said about that topic, so I’m going to skip it.
However, there was a smaller moment that I really liked: Novak Djokovic’s gracious defeat.
A win at the US Open would’ve seen Djokovic win all four of this year’s Grand Slam titles. However, Daniil Medvedev foiled those plans by beating Djokovic in straight sets.
As Djokovic approached the net, a handshake would’ve been fine.
Yet he gave Medvedev a hug, spoke words in his ear, give him a congratulatory shoulder shake, made eye contact, and touched heads. All small actions, but all signals of genuine respect and congratulations.
It says a lot about a champ when you see how they act when they lose.