Sporting royalty graced Hard Rock Stadium on Friday as Lionel Messi watched Novak Djokovic in action in the semifinal of the Miami Open.
After Djokovic breezed to victory in just 69 minutes, Messi greeted him in the locker room. The two sporting icons "exchanged gifts" and shared pleasantries. Djokovic revealed another interesting tidbit from their meeting in his post-match news conference.
According to Djokovic, one of Messi's sons wasn't all that impressed by his straight-sets win over Grigor Dimitrov and felt he could have played better. The 24-time major winner added that he had been challenged to up his game in Sunday's final against Jakob Mensik.
"I was rated by one of his sons today as 8/10, which is pretty good," Djokovic told reporters. "He, with a serious face, told me I have to make 10 out of 10 next match. So, I have quite a bit of pressure from Messi's son there. Yeah, we joked around. It was nice to meet with his whole family. It was very touching moment for me because it's one thing that he comes, but then bringing his whole family, his kids, his wife. As a young father myself, I know what that means. I was very touched by that."
Lionel Messi and his family watching Novak Djokovic defeat Grigor Dimitrov at the Miami Open pic.twitter.com/oVDm6OtNjV
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Lionel Messi ✖️ Novak Djokovic
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If anything, Djokovic seemed to up his game in the presence of Messi. Djokovic completed 87% of his first serves, his highest mark of any game in 2025, and won 79% of those points, per Infosys ATP Stats.
The 37-year-old hasn't dropped a solitary set en route to Sunday's final, where he will face teenager Mensik. While Djokovic is seeking his career 100th ATP title, Mensik, 19, is eyeing his first.
Either way, tennis history will be altered in a battle of two different generations.
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