Novak Djokovic asked about Lionel Messi after an epic Wimbledon quarter-final win

Kevin Palmer 08 Jul 2026 12:23 AM

Novak Djokovic and Lionel Messi

We have rarely seen 39-year-old athletes rewriting the record books, but Novak Djokovic and Lionel Messi have never been normal sporting icons.

In fact, they may just be two of the most abnormal athletes the world has ever seen.

In a social media age of quick-fire judgements, genius is a word bestowed with a little too much haste in a modern world that tends to rush to judgement after an individual moment or two of brilliance.

Yet Djokovic and Messi have been producing sporting miracles for two decades and on July 7 2026, they served up more.

While Messi was digging Argentina out of a hole and guiding them to victory at the World Cup against Egypt, Djokovic spent five hours and 15 minutes winning the longest quarter-final in Wimbledon history as he beat Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(4) in a truly astonishing performance.

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Players half their age cannot maintain the level of energy and passion Djokovic and Messi continue to show, despite everything they have achieved and that makes their brilliance all the more admirable.

Djokovic was asked about Messi in his post match press conference at Wimbledon and he said: “It would be nice to play 90 minutes like him!”

He had a point and when Djokovic was asked how he beat an opponent who is 14 years his junior in such a gruelling match, he offered up some brutally honest confessions.

“I won that match with a racquet and a lot of heart. I had to do a lot of nerve management and I had to deal with the extreme tension that you feel in these kind of matches. Towards the end, it was really anybody’s game. I think the scoreline was pretty much even all the way through, that’s a realistic representation of this match today. It was really anybody’s game in that super tie-break.

“What can I say? These are the kind of moments I still play tennis for, that’s for sure. I wish it was the final so I don’t need to worry about how the body will feel tomorrow, but yes I’m happy that I won. It certainly does carry more significance [when I win like that].

“I was telling my kids to go to sleep after the fourth set, but they didn’t want to listen. I’m glad they stayed because it was honestly one of the best matches I’ve been a part of on this court in my career.”

Djokovic will now play in a 15th Wimbledon semi-final and a simply ridiculous 55th Grand Slam semi-final overall, but it was clear that reflections of his achievements could ait as he was keen to get off court and start his recovery.

“That’s great, but it’s just another semi-final for me,” he added. “I’m going to look at all the numbers and everything when I finish my career. Right now, it is all business. I still have to recover, I’m still in the tournament and I still have to face the best player in the world in a few days time.”

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The worry for Djokovic must be that even though his win against Auger-Aliassime was a moment to savour, it will have taken too much out of his battle-scarred body to give him a real shot at beating world No 1 Jannik Sinner in Friday’s semi-final.

Yet having defied the odds once again, Djokovic and Messi have confirmed you can never write off two of the greatest sporting champions of all-time.