MVP plum to mother Marites
The 6-foot-10 Cebuano gentle giant, however, was still happy, knowing full well that her mom should be proud of what he had achieved especially after managing to stand tall through adversity.
“Sa nanay ko, masaya siya ngayon, masaya siya kasama sila lolo. Andiyan sila ngayon, tinitingnan ako, ginagabayan ako. Para sa kanila ito kung ano yung na-achieve ko, ngayon kung ano ginagawa ko dinidedicate ko sa kanila on and off the court,” said Fajardo.
Fajardo admitted that he entertained thoughts of hanging up his sneakers during his recovery but was convinced that it was only one challenge that he has to go through to become stronger, not just in basketball but also in life. “Iniisip ko nga mag-gigive up na ako. Okay na ako sa basketball pero alam ko sa sarili ko na kaya ko pang maglaro, nainjure lang talaga ako,” said Fajardo. “‘Yon ‘yung ‘pre tinetest lang tayo ni God eh’. Binibigyan niya tayo ng mga challenges kasi di naman tayo lalakas kapag easy going lang lahat. Kailangan natin ng mga challenges para ma-test yung characters natin, mas nabibuild yung character natin,” he added.
And Fajardo came out on top of it all. Not only he came back from the setback but made sure to announce his return to the top in style – with another MVP trophy on his hands. “Shout out din sa sarili ko kasi di ako na- give up,” said Fajardo.
Djokovic collected his sixth title of the season to draw level with Carlos Alcaraz, adding to three Grand Slams and the Masters victory in Cincinnati that set him up for a landmark 24th major crown at the US Open.
"It's incredible. To be able to win it after quite challenging circumstances for me this week," said Djokovic, who had been hit by a stomach virus that left him feeling under the weather in Paris.
Djokovic was taken to three sets in each of his three previous rounds but didn't face a single break point against the 17th-ranked Dimitrov.
"Basically, coming back from the brink of losing three matches in a row, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I was very close to losing those matches and somehow managed to find an extra gear when it was needed," said Djokovic.