A remarkable crossover event took place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, where one of football's greatest, Lionel Messi, was present to witness a match featuring one of tennis's all-time greats, Novak Djokovic. Messi was seen in the audience during Djokovic's impressive semifinal victory over Grigor Dimitrov, which ended with a score of 6-2, 6-3. Following the match, the two legendary athletes were photographed together, with Djokovic signing a shirt for the Argentine superstar.

Messi, who currently plays for Inter Miami CF in Major League Soccer, has become a prominent figure in the city. While numerous athletes from various sports have attended matches in Miami to see Messi in action, it was now Messi's opportunity to reciprocate the gesture at the renowned Hard Rock Stadium.

Djokovic shared a photo of himself with Messi on his Instagram account, where he presented a signed shirt to the football icon, inscribed with the message “For your family” in Spanish. In return, Messi gifted Djokovic an Inter Miami home jersey. Djokovic captioned the post: “An honour to meet the greatness (Messi) and his whole family. Gracias Leo.”

Djokovic continues to make history, aims at century

Messi was present as Djokovic swiftly defeated Bulgarian player Dimitrov in just 71 minutes, securing his place in a record-extending 60th Masters 1000 final. This victory also allowed Djokovic to equal Roger Federer’s record of reaching a tour-level final for 20 consecutive seasons, highlighting his remarkable longevity at the age of 37.

A victory in the final would make Djokovic only the third player in history to achieve 100 titles on the ATP tour, following Federer and Jimmy Connors. However, he will face a formidable challenge from 19-year-old Czech rising star Jakub Mensik in the final.

Mensik, preparing for the most significant match of his young career, also posted a photo with Messi from the players' locker room. After his victory over Taylor Fritz, he humorously remarked on court: “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.”

Messi has made a strong impression since the commencement of the MLS and the CONCACAF Champions Cup, netting four goals and providing two assists in six matches. Unfortunately, he sustained an injury in mid-March, which sidelined him for a month and prevented him from joining Argentina's team for the current international break. Despite his absence, Argentina achieved a resounding 4-1 victory over their long-standing rivals Brazil in the World Cup qualifiers, successfully securing their spot in the 2026 tournament.

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