Novak Djokovic made one of his greatest escapes Wimbledon career before giving a little tease about: Lionel Messiwho joked that he would happily trade more than five hours on the tennis court for 90-minutes with the Argentina captain. football: matches.The 39-year-old Serbian defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in a record-breaking five-hour, 15-minute Wimbledon quarterfinal on Tuesday. Afterwards, he was asked to compare himself to another sporting icon who is still competing at the highest level at the same age – Argentina captain Messi.Instead of commenting on Messi’s longevity, Djokovic jokingly mentioned the difference in the length of the match.“It would have been nice to play 90 minutes like him,” Djokovic said with a smile after spending more than five hours on Center Court.
Argentina made an amazing comeback
Djokovic’s hilarious comment came just hours after Messi inspired Argentina to one of the most stunning victories at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.The defending champions looked set for a shock exit after falling 2-0 behind against Egypt, with Yasser Ibrahim opening the scoring before Mostafa Ziko doubled the Pharaohs’ advantage in the 67th minute.Messi’s night hardly went to plan either. He saw a penalty saved by Mostafa Shobeir, hit the crossbar with a free-kick and watched the Egyptian goalkeeper deny several Argentine attacks.But the momentum changed dramatically late in the contest. Cristian Romero headed in Messi’s free-kick in the 79th minute before the captain leveled the scores four minutes later with a powerful strike.Deep into stoppage time, Enzo Fernandez completed a remarkable turnaround, calmly slotting home the winner to seal an incredible 3-2 victory and send Argentina to a quarter-final meeting with Switzerland.ALSO READ: A tearful Lionel Messi was lifted as Argentina’s locker room and Buenos Aires erupted after the epic escape.
Djokovic survived another Wimbledon marathon
Djokovic, on the other hand, is involved in his own epic.The seven-time Wimbledon champion defeated Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) in the longest Wimbledon quarterfinal in history to reach a record eighth straight semifinal at the All England Club.“These are the kinds of moments I still play tennis with,” Djokovic said.Thinking of another victory in the marathon, he added. “I still fight with these young people who are 15 years younger than me. I will be able to beat them with the tightest possible scoreline. In a sense, it was a pleasant surprise. But at the same time, I always have the highest expectations for myself. “The Serbian also admitted that he would prefer the match to be shorter.“I hope it’s the finals, so I don’t have to worry about how the body will feel tomorrow… I’m glad they stayed because it was actually one of the best matches I’ve been involved in on this court in my career,” he said.While Messi needed 90 minutes – and a dramatic late comeback – to keep Argentina’s World Cup dreams alive, Djokovic needed more than five hours to punch his ticket to another Wimbledon semifinal.