The three tennis players who Lionel Messi once said he really admires

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Lionel Messi has achieved heights that not many other sportspeople have, with the legendary footballer still producing magic at the age of 38.

Argentina icon Messi has been a shining light for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer (MLS) in recent times, completely transforming the club.

His actions have transcended the pitch, with American fans and indeed those further afield desperate to catch a glimpse of him in action.

And given his stunning ability and phenomenal honors list, it isn’t at all surprising, with Messi seemingly not done just yet.

Lionel Messi really admires Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic

Just like Messi has already done in football, known as soccer in his current home, his tennis idols have all gone down as legends of the sport.

As per the International Tennis Federation, Messi said recently: “I admire tennis players like [Roger] Federer, Rafa [Nadal] and [Novak] Djokovic.

“Competing for so long to be the best and being so close to each other made everything much more incredible.”

Which Argentine players will go down as tennis icons?

It’s certainly an accurate assessment from the Argentine, who like many others was blown away by the Big Three in their prime.

Djokovic is still going strong at the age of 38, impressively hitting the 100 ATP Tour title tally earlier this year.

There are, of course, plenty of Argentine icons that Messi undoubtedly caught a glimpse of at one stage or another.

Guillermo Vilas, Gabriela Sabatini, David Nalbandian and Diego Schwartzman have all earned cult hero status for their efforts on the court.

Meanwhile, their fellow superstar Juan Martin del Potro could have arguably claimed further success if not for Messi’s idols.

The Big Three – Djokovic, Nadal and Federer – were near unstoppable on their day, and fittingly occupy the top three spots in the men’s all-time Grand Slam titles list.

READ MORE: Why Novak Djokovic invited Gerard Butler to his box for his 2015 US Open final with Roger Federer