Novak Djokovic became the oldest man to advance to the finals of the Miami Open after a dominant 6-2, 6-3 victory in the semi-finals yesterday. The moment was special due to the presence of the legendary footballer Lionel Messi, who watched the game with his family from the stands. They were also seen together for a post-match photo.
Djokovic shared his excitement about Messi’s presence and said, “Amazing to have him. 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.”
Djokovic had previously seen Messi play multiple times but this was the first time Messi came to see him play which took him by surprise. He shared, “Obviously, it’s a thrill to have his whole family, It’s a huge honor. He’s such a great athlete, not just a football player. His impact on the world of sports in the last 20 years has been immense.”
“To have him watch me live brings me great joy and excitement, and also a little pressure. It’s definitely different when he brings his family. I was touched by that,” he added.
Later in the day, Djokovic took to his Instagram account and shared a photo of both him and Messi with a T-shirt that read “For Your Family” and wrote in the caption, “An honor to meet the greatness and his whole family. Gracias Leo. Asta pronto 🙌💪”
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Now, Djokovic will face Jakub Mensik, who advanced to the finals by defeating Taylor Fritz. The game will also mark the largest age gap between two finalists at the ATP Masters 1000 event, with Novak being 37 years and 10 months old and Mensik being 19 years and 102 days old.
Jakub could not contain his excitement after reaching the finals and shared jokingly, ““I shook his hand. I was kind of chilling with him a bit so I didn’t wash my hand before stepping on court. That was the key for today.”
The final match is scheduled for 30 March 2025.
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