A Bad Day for My GOAT

 Yesterday was a difficult day for three of the GOATs I write about in my The Greatest Sports Stars of All-Time: Fifteen Fantastic Athletes—Novak Djokovic, Pelé, and Diana Taurasi. Carlos Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in the Wimbledon final 6-2, 6-2, 7-6. Unlike their epic five-set battle last year also won by Alcaraz, the Spaniard deposed the GOAT of men’s tennis rather easily this time. It is remarkable, however, that the Serb made it to the final only six weeks after he had surgery to repair his torn meniscus. The 37-year-old is still playing at a remarkably high level. Last year, he rebounded from his loss to Alcaraz at Wimbledon by winning the U.S. Open in September. We’ll see what happens this year as he seeks to become the all-time leader, male or female, with 25 Grand Slam titles.

 Since I wrote my chapter on Pelé eighteen months ago (and he died while I was working on it) his leading competitor for the title of the GOAT of men’s soccer, Lionel Messi, also age 37, has been playing at a high level and strengthening his case for this recognition. In 18 games with Inter Miami of the U.S. Major Soccer League in 2023 and 2024, he scored 13 goals and had 15 assists. His presence on the pitch has increased interest and attendance in the soccer in the United States. In the Copa America, Messi played solidly if not spectacularly, contributing one goal and one assist in his team’s five matches, in helping lead Argentina to its record sixteenth title. In his team’s 1-0 victory over Colombia in the final, Messi suffered an injury to his right ankle in the 64th minute and had to leave the game.

 Diana Taurasi, age 42, will be playing on her sixth women’s Olympic basketball team later this month in Paris. She was also named the WNBA All-Star team for the eleventh time. Despite claiming that she felt “awesome” and “great,” Taurasi, who missed the previous two games because of a leg injury, scored only six points and had six rebounds as her Phoenix Mercury was clobbered by the 18-5 Connecticut Sun. Nevertheless, she is averaging a very respectable 16.1 points per game this season.

 For the engaging life stories of these three sensational athletes, see my book referenced above.