The Miami Open presented by Itau was graced by football royalty on Friday, when Argentina legend Lionel Messi was courtside to watch Novak Djokovic defeat Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-finals.
Messi, who has won the World Cup with Argentina and four Champions League titles with Barcelona, captains Major League Soccer side Inter Miami. On Friday afternoon he swapped the pitch for the stands, soaking in a Djokovic masterclass at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
“Amazing to have him,” Djokovic said on Messi. “It is a great honour to play, probably for the first time, in front of him live. I am really grateful he was here with his son and the family. I admired him of course as most of the world for most of his career and it is amazing he still keeps going.
“We are actually the same age, born in 1987, so it is nice to have him around.”
For both Messi and Djokovic, age is merely a number as they continue to break records. Messi, at 35, lifted the World Cup and won a record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or at 36. Meanwhile, Djokovic, at 37, is the oldest ATP Masters 1000 finalist in history and has now reached a tour-level final in every season for 20 consecutive years (2006-2025).
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