Novak Djokovic produced one of the greatest escapes of his Wimbledon career before making light hearted jokes Lionel Messijoking that he would happily trade more than five hours on a tennis court for the Argentine captain’s 90 minutes. soccer leaveThe 39-year-old Serbian outlasted Felix Auger-Aliassime in a record five hours and 15 minutes of Wimbledon quarter-finals on Tuesday. Then, he was asked to compare himself with another sports icon who was still competing at the highest level at the same age – Argentina captain Messi.Rather than commenting on Messi’s longevity, Djokovic jokingly referred to the difference in match length.“It would be nice to play 90 minutes like him,” Djokovic said with a smile after spending more than five hours on Center Court.
Argentina made a stunning comeback
Djokovic’s humorous remark came just hours after Messi inspired Argentina to one of the most dramatic victories of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.The defending champions looked set for a shock exit after falling 2-0 behind to Egypt, with Yasser Ibrahim opening the scoring before Mostafa Ziko doubled the Pharaohs’ lead in the 67th minute.Messi’s evening was not nearly as planned. 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 home Messi’s free-kick in the 79th minute, before the captain leveled the scores four minutes later with a thunderous strike.In stoppage time, Enzo Fernandez completed an extraordinary turnaround, calmly slotting home the winner to seal a remarkable 3-2 win and send Argentina into a quarter-final meeting with Switzerland.READ ALSO: Tearful Lionel Messi raised high while the dressing room of Argentina and Buenos Aires erupted after epic escape | Look at it
Djokovic survives another Wimbledon marathon
Djokovic, meanwhile, was involved in an epic of his own.The seven-time Wimbledon champion beat Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) in the longest Wimbledon quarter-final in history to reach a record eighth straight semi-final at the All England Club.“These are the kind of moments I’ve always played tennis for,” Djokovic said.Reflecting on another marathon victory, he added: “I’m still able to fight these guys who are 15 years younger than me. I am able to beat it to the tightest point possible. In a way, it’s really a nice surprise. But at the same time, I always have higher expectations for myself.”The Serb also admitted that he would have preferred the match to have been shorter.“I wish it was final, because I don’t have to worry about how the body will feel tomorrow… I’m glad they stayed because it was honestly one of the best matches I’ve been part of on this court in my career,” he said.While Messi needed 90 minutes – and a dramatic late comeback – to keep Argentina’s World Cup dream alive, Djokovic needed more than five hours to punch his ticket to another Wimbledon semi-final.
