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Novak Djokovic’s wife Jelena laid bare how moved she was by Alexander Zverev’s tribute to his mother after his men’s singles title triumph at the 2026 US Open. Zverev defeated home favorite Ben Shelton in four sets on Sunday, September 13, to win his second Grand Slam title as the top seeded German exorcised the demons of his heartbreaking final loss at the 2020 edition of the New York major.<\/p>\n
Following his victory, Zverev paid a glowing tribute to his mother Irina, a former tennis player, for being one of his greatest pillars of support, especially in his pursuit of a career in the sport despite being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a child. The German said:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \nThanks for the submission!\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/template><\/p>\n “When your 4-year-old son is diagnosed with diabetes and doctors in the office tell you that life and sports will be very limited for that child, it takes a very strong mother to say ‘my son will be whatever he wants to be. If he wants to be a tennis player, he’ll be a tennis player. If he wants to do something else, he’ll do something else, but this illness will not define us.'” (from 3:02)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n <\/template><\/p>\n He soon added:<\/p>\n “My mother is the most important and strongest person I know because it takes an unbelievably strong woman to do what she did.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/p>\n