It’s not just Hollywood celebs like Millie Bobby Brown, Zendaya, and Russell Crowe who like to enjoy live action at major tennis events. Seems like other world famous athletes are also fond of the racket sport. And when there’s Novak Djokovic on the court, how can someone miss the show? Even a GOAT like Lionel Messi gets compelled to attend the live action. The admiration is mutual. Remember how Djokovic heaped praise on the Inter Miami star and Argentina’s 2022 World Cup winning hero in an interview with ESPN? Back in 2023, he said, “Messi is a phenomenon. He’s a huge champion, I have respect for him.” And as fate would have it, the two legends finally crossed paths again, at the Miami Open in Florida this week, taking fans’ emotions through the roof.

Leo Messi attended Djokovic’s semifinal encounter against Grigor Dimitrov on Friday. He was accompanied by one of his sons, too. The Serbian took just 69 minutes to seal the deal in straight sets with a score line of 6-2, 6-3. Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion and arguably the greatest of all time himself, was left in awe of Messi. He had his own fan moment.

During an on-court interview after the match, the Serb said, “I’m very glad, obviously. Amazing to have him, a great honor and pleasure… to play, I think probably for the first time, in front of him live.” Continuing further, he added, “I’m really grateful that he was there with his son, I think, and family. I’ve admired him, of course, as most of the world for most of his career so it’s amazing that he still keeps going.”

Moreover, the Serbian also spilled the beans on an intriguing connection between himself and the Argentinian legend. What’s that? Well! “We’re actually the same age, born in 1987, so it’s quite nice to have him around,” Nole said. While the former World No. 1 was born in May 1987, Leo’s birth was just a month later in June that year.

After the match, Lionel Messi even got an autographed t-shirt from Djokovic as they posed for a picture in the locker room. The Serbian wrote in his IG post, “An honor to meet the greatness @leomessi and his whole family. Gracias Leo. Asta pronto 🙌💪”

Meanwhile, the fans could hardly contain their emotions, seeing the two GOATs in one frame. So how did they react to this epic crossover? Let’s hover over the comments section of Djokovic’s post.

Fans go gaga after Lionel Messi watches Novak Djokovic live in Miami

One elated fan simply wrote, “GOAT AGE ❤️” after finding out that the two sports icons were born in the same calendar. Another user provided some extra details saying, “Djokovic is May 22 & Messi is June 24 😍👏🔥🙌”

With his semifinal win on Friday, Novak Djokovic is now just one step away from securing his 100th ATP title and that’s brings a bit of added pressure ahead of Sunday’s final. But hey, it’s Djokovic. An absolute legend of the sport. He has seen it all. But the pressure is still there and you would be surprised to know it’s because of Messi’s son. How come?

After the semifinal, Djokovic revealed, “I was rated by one of his sons today as 8 out of 10, which is pretty good. He, with a serious fac,e 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.”

Meanwhile, one hardcore Djokovic fan shared heartwarming praise for Messi as he came to watch the Serb live. “We love goats watching the Serbian King and goat! 👑🐐🥰😍👏🙌💪🙏☦️🇷🇸♥️🔥,” the fan wrote.

Echoing a similar sentiment, few others also expressed their admiration for the two athletes, describing them as “The 🐐s of 🎾 and ⚽️” and “Legends ✅.” And, why not? On one hand, you have got Messi- the Argentinian star with the most Ballon d’Or awards (8), alongside the most number of goals in La Liga (474). Not to mention his stellar milestone of the highest number of goals for a single club. He shot 672 goals during his stint with Barcelona. Even internationally, he’s got praiseworthy stats, with the most number of goals for his country (106).

And then, there’s Djokovic – the former World No.1 and 24-time Major winner, now on the verge of lifting his 100th ATP title. Just a few days back, he also became the oldest ATP Masters 1000 semifinalist, at 37 years and 10 months, as he defeated America’s Sebastian Korda in the Miami Open Round of 8. “Goat recognize goat 🐐”, wrote one fan after witnessing the two greats together.

If Djokovic wins the Miami Open final against the Czech youngster Jakub Mensik, he will have the most number of Miami Open trophies in history. Currently, he’s leveled at 6-6 with American icon Andre Agassi. Are you backing Djoker to pull it off on Sunday?