Messi Shines Again in First Inter Miami Start, Scores Twice in 4-0 win Over Atlanta 

Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF reacts in the second half during the Leagues Cup 2023 match between Inter Miami CF and Atlanta United at DRV PNK Stadium on July 25, 2023 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF reacts in the second half during the Leagues Cup 2023 match between Inter Miami CF and Atlanta United at DRV PNK Stadium on July 25, 2023 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Messi Shines Again in First Inter Miami Start, Scores Twice in 4-0 win Over Atlanta 

Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF reacts in the second half during the Leagues Cup 2023 match between Inter Miami CF and Atlanta United at DRV PNK Stadium on July 25, 2023 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF reacts in the second half during the Leagues Cup 2023 match between Inter Miami CF and Atlanta United at DRV PNK Stadium on July 25, 2023 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)

Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas has one lasting memory from Lionel Messi’s debut: the image of Messi running to embrace his family after delivering the game-winning free kick and cementing a new era for the club and Major League Soccer.

"That was for the fans. This community is hungry," Mas said.

Messi’s follow-up performance Tuesday night against Atlanta United in the Leagues Cup showed the impact that one player — the right player — can have on an entire club.

Messi scored twice and had an assist in his first start for Miami, bringing his total to three goals in two games. Inter Miami had a 3-0 lead by halftime, the first such lead in club history.

"There’s going to be a before and after Messi in football for this country," Mas said.

Miami went on to win 4-0. Messi exited in the 78th minute to a standing ovation, with many in the crowd wearing his No. 10 jersey. Many also headed for the exits themselves once Messi was on the bench.

"With the type of player that he is, it’s justified that this happens," Miami coach Tata Martino said. "I would have preferred that the public stayed and pay tribute to the entire team, but I can also understand it."

Miami swept its group and moved on to the round of 32 in the Leagues Cup, in which it will host a to-be-determined opponent.

In the eighth minute, Messi took a pass from his longtime Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets, surged forward and sent a strike off the right post before tapping in his own rebound. Then, in the 22nd minute, Messi put Miami ahead 2-0 off a pass from Robert Taylor.

"Since those two have gotten here, the spirit has changed," Miami's DeAndre Yedlin said, referring to Messi and Busquets. "Obviously, guys are really excited. But I think just their presence gives everybody more confidence. And I think also the teams that we’re playing against now have a bit of fear in their eyes. When those two are on the field, you know you’re in for a tough game."

Messi came off the bench in the 54th minute Friday night in Miami's first Leagues Cup match against Mexican club Cruz Azul. And he provided a moment fans had hoped for when the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and World Cup champion for Argentina decided to take his talents to MLS. Messi converted the game-winning free kick in stoppage time in front of a crowd estimated at 21,000.

Yedlin had placed the skipper’s armband on Messi when he checked in on Friday, but Messi entered Tuesday's match wearing the armband just below his right shoulder.

"He’s my teammate now. He’s our teammate," Yedlin said. "He’s part of this team and he wants to win like everybody else. And he’s been a joy to be around, obviously not just on the field. He’s obviously an amazing talent but off the field he really helps a lot of the younger guys, even older guys like myself."

Brazilian midfielder Gregore had been the club’s captain before suffering a foot injury in March.

With Messi rightly commanding much of the attention from Atlanta's defenders, opportunities opened for other Miami players. Taylor scored in the 44th minute, then made it 4-0 in the 53rd after being set up by Messi.

"There’s times when the coach prepares a certain game in a certain way, but these two players are so good at what they do that they create space," Martino said about Messi and Busquets.

Goalkeeper Drake Callender preserved the shutout when he stopped a penalty shot by Thiago Almada in the 86th minute.

"There are things that of course after review of the game that we can do way better," Atlanta coach Gonzalo Pineda said. "I think we also had some chances to score. ... We couldn’t capitalize."

Messi had entered holding hands with the son of hip-hop artist DJ Khaled.

A fan got onto the field as Messi was exiting. The fan sprinted all the way toward Miami's bench where Messi stood before Martino grabbed the attention of security. The fan was then escorted off the field.



Djokovic Says Tennis Players Have a ‘Lack of Trust’ in Doping Agencies After Sinner Case 

Novak Djokovic of Serbia attends a press conference ahead of the Qatar Open tennis tournament in Doha, Qatar, 17 February 2025. (EPA)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia attends a press conference ahead of the Qatar Open tennis tournament in Doha, Qatar, 17 February 2025. (EPA)
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Djokovic Says Tennis Players Have a ‘Lack of Trust’ in Doping Agencies After Sinner Case 

Novak Djokovic of Serbia attends a press conference ahead of the Qatar Open tennis tournament in Doha, Qatar, 17 February 2025. (EPA)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia attends a press conference ahead of the Qatar Open tennis tournament in Doha, Qatar, 17 February 2025. (EPA)

Novak Djokovic says a majority of tennis players have lost faith in the anti-doping authorities following Jannik Sinner's three-month ban, and there's a widespread feeling that “favoritism” is being shown to the sport's biggest stars.

The 24-time major winner called on the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Tennis Integrity Agency to overhaul their processes for dealing with doping cases “because the system and the structure obviously doesn't work.”

“Right now there is a lack of trust generally from the tennis players, both male and female, toward WADA and ITIA and the whole process,” Djokovic said at the Qatar Open.

Top-ranked Sinner reached a deal with WADA on Saturday to accept a ban that will have him back playing in time for the French Open in May without having to miss a single Grand Slam tournament. That came after the International Tennis Integrity Agency had decided not to suspend Sinner for what it judged was accidental contamination by a banned anabolic steroid last March.

The short ban for Sinner came after five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension in November after testing positive for a banned substance that she said was accidentally consumed because of a contaminated nonprescription medication. Both bans are much shorter than what other athletes in tennis and in other sports have normally received in similar cases.

“It’s not a good image for our sport, that’s for sure,” Djokovic, the long-time No. 1 in men's tennis, said. “There’s a majority of the players that I’ve talked to in the locker room, not just in the last few days, but also last few months, that are not happy with the way this whole process (for Sinner) has been handled.

“A majority of the players don’t feel that it’s fair. A majority of the players feel like there is favoritism happening. It appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player, if you have access to the top lawyers and whatnot.”

Sinner had been scheduled to play in Qatar before accepting the ban.

The handling of Sinner’s case had already raised questions about double standards, and when the ban was announced it was widely criticized by other players. The positive tests weren’t publicly revealed until August because Sinner successfully appealed against being provisionally banned from playing. He then won the US Open in September and the Australian Open in January.

Sinner’s explanation for the positive test was that trace amounts of Clostebol in his doping sample was due to a massage from a trainer who used the substance after cutting his own finger, which WADA accepted.

Djokovic said he didn't question Sinner's and Swiatek's innocence but that he and other players are frustrated about the inconsistent handling of doping cases.

He pointed to the case of former women's No. 1 Simona Halep — who was given a four-year ban by the ITIA in 2022 after a positive test before it was later reduced to nine months — and British player Tara Moore, who was suspended in May 2022 while an investigation lasted 18 months before an independent tribunal determined that her positive test for a banned substance was caused by contaminated meat.

“Right now it’s a ripe time for us to really address the system, because the system and the structure obviously doesn’t work, it’s obvious,” Djokovic said. “So, I hope that in the ... near future that the governing bodies are going to come together of our tours and the tennis ecosystem and try to find a more effective way to deal with these processes.”