This Tuesday, July 7, from Atlanta to London, from football to tennis, two of sports’ greatest legends sent a similar message: Lionel Messi and Novak Djokovic said something along the lines of “we are old, yes, but we haven’t said our last word yet.“
With a goal and an assist, Lionel Messi commanded an epic comeback for Argentina (3-2 over Egypt when the Albiceleste was losing 2-0 with just a few minutes remaining) heading into the World Cup quarterfinals. A few hours later, on the grass of Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic survived a battle of more than five hours, taking down Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (12-10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), and 7-6 (10-4) to reach the semifinals of the most prestigious tournament in existence.
Both 39 years old, Messi and Djokovic have been glimpsing retirement for some time. Messi settled in Miami in 2023 to enjoy his final stage as a professional without the demands of a major European club, and Djokovic has also seen his Grand Slam count stalled since 2023. But both, like the greatest of icons, share that inner fire of wanting more and more. And their bodies, despite their age, still allow it.
— Periodista: “Increíble como Messi tiene 39 años y sigue metiendo goles. Y tú ganas después de 5 horas y 15 minutos”
— Novak Djokovic: “A mí me gustaría jugar 90 minutos como a él, pero…” (risas)
❤️ Los amamospic.twitter.com/oO0dD3GPTk
— Tiempo De Tenis (@Tiempodetenis1) July 7, 2026
“I would like to play 90 minutes like Messi, but…“, Djokovic joked on Tuesday night, after five hours and 15 minutes of battle against Auger-Aliassime. It was the longest match of his career at Wimbledon, an ode to the tenacity and resilience of a man determined to break one more barrier: winning a Grand Slam on the verge of 40, with the Sinner-Alcaraz generation already established as the dominant force of the present and future.
The Serb came close in January in Australia, where he defeated the Italian in the semis before falling to the Spaniard. Now he pursues it again at Wimbledon, where he will clash against Sinner in the semifinals this Friday. On this occasion, moreover, Alcaraz would not be waiting for him in a hypothetical final, as he is absent due to a wrist injury.
Djokovic and Sinner will face each other on Friday for the twelfth time. The head-to-head slightly favors the Italian (6-5), who won the same matchup exactly one year ago, defeating the Serb 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the Wimbledon 2025 semifinals. Their last match, in Australia, ended however with a victory for the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
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Sinner’s biggest weakness
Analyzed under the microscope of data, this generational duel reveals a brutal axiom heading into a five-set match: Djokovic’s greatest strength is Sinner’s biggest weakness. Tuesday’s match against Aliassime is the ultimate proof.
When matches transform into extreme wars of attrition and cross the four-hour threshold, the narrative changes completely. The numbers supporting Djokovic’s legend in marathons are insane. In matches that have extended beyond 4 hours and 55 minutes, the Serb holds a flawless record of seven victories and zero defeats. Nobody survives the Serb when the clock approaches five hours.
On Tuesday, during the commentary on Movistar+, Álex Corretja and Feliciano López rubbed their eyes time and again during the fifth set and that 14-point super tiebreak in which Djokovic did not commit a single unforced error. “Being at this level after five hours doesn’t seem possible to me. Because I’ve never seen it in anyone. It just blows my mind. The normal thing is for an injury to hit you, some cramps, a physical drop-off, but nothing, not to Nole,” gasped Feliciano López. “You are humiliating the rest of us humans. I think he was not born on this planet,” Corretja surrendered.
Sinner, at 24 years old—15 years younger than Djokovic—has a diametrically opposed statistic to the Serb when matches drag on. It is a specific Achilles’ heel. The Italian carries a worrying stat: a 0-7 record in matches exceeding four hours in Grand Slam tournaments, including painful defeats where his physical state and mind ultimately took their toll.
“I have to recover, because I’m facing the best player in the world,” Djokovic anticipated on Tuesday night at Wimbledon. The good thing for the Serb is that he has two days of rest to recharge his batteries. He is going to need it: you don’t beat Sinner the quick way, but through attrition.
