Novak Djokovic congratulates Lionel Messi, Argentina, and commiserates with Croatia after FIFA World Cup 2022 SF
Novak Djokovic was among the few players from the tennis world to put out messages regarding the first semifinal of the FIFA World Cup 2022 between Argentina and Croatia on Tuesday.
Looking to enter the final for only the second time ever, Croatia faced a 3-0 defeat against Argentina at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar. A comprehensive win means that Argentina has reached the final for the sixth time and will fight for the title on Sunday with the winner of the second semifinal between 2018 winners France and Morocco, to be played tonight.
The Argentine captain and one of the greatest players, Lionel Messi, gave his team a 1-0 lead by converting a penalty in the 34th minute. Just five minutes later, 22-year-old Julian Alvarez scored the second goal and finally another one in the 69th minute for the scorecard to read 3-0. Messi was adjudged the Player of the Match for his goal and extraordinary assist.
Argentina has lost three World Cup finals while winning the prestigious event in 1978 and 1986.
Novak Djokovic took to social media to congratulate Argentina and Messi, who became the highest goal-scorer for his country in World Cups, leaving behind Gabriel Batistuta.
"Bravo Leo [Messi] and Argentina," he wrote on his Instagram stories.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion also congratulated the 2018 runners-up Croatia for having reached the semifinals. He tagged their star players Dejan Lovren and Luka Modric in a photograph.
"Congratulations on this one, guys, and the whole team on another great championship," he wrote.
Novak Djokovic to play the World Tennis League in Dubai
The inaugural edition of the World Tennis League exhibition tournament is all set to be held at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai from December 19-24. The event will see four teams fighting against each other. Novak Djokovic is part of Team Falcons, which also features Paula Badosa, Aryna Sabalenka, and Grigor Dimitrov.
Speaking at the Asics Tennis Summit recently, the 35-year-old Serb expressed his satisfaction at winning the 2022 ATP Finals. He also stated that after deportation, it was difficult for him to start playing at the top level again.
"That was a great way to finish the season. This season has been very challenging for me in many levels. The way I started was something I never experienced before. So it took me several months really to find a balance on the court mentally, physically, and emotionally, and to really be able to start playing tennis that I want to play," he said.