One of the finest tennis stars to have graced the game, Novak Djokovic gears up for the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open 2024. As the tennis ace started his preparation for the 2-week long tournament, he received a good luck greeting from India’s marquee cricketer Virat Kohli. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video where Kohli spoke about his admiration for Djokovic and also narrated an intriguing tale about his first contact with the Serbian tennis star. Seeing the video spread like wildfire on social media, Djokovic has responded.
In the video, Kohli revealed that he once organically decided to send a message to Djokovic on Instagram. But to his surprise, the tennis maestro had already messaged him, marking the beginning of their friendship.
“I got in touch with Novak very organically, I was just looking at his profile once on Instagram and I just happened to press the message button. I thought I’ll just say hello, maybe,” Kohli revealed on BCCI ‘X’ ahead of his T20 comeback against Afghanistan at Indore.
“And then I saw a message from him on my DM already. I never opened it myself. So, first time I saw my own messages myself, I saw, he messaged me himself. And I was like, let me just check if it’s a fake account or something like that.
“But then I checked it again and it was legitimate. And then, yeah, we got talking. We keep exchanging messages every now and then. I congratulated him for all his amazing achievements.” The two athletes quickly found common ground, regularly exchanging congratulatory messages on their respective achievements. They both are also epitome of supreme fitness allowing them to excel even in their mid 30s.
Responding to the video on X (formerly Twitter), Djokovic said: “Thank you for these kind words @imVkohli Looking forward to the day we play together.”
Thank you for these kind words @imVkohli Looking forward to the day we play together https://t.co/C8Lyz2B0J4
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 14, 2024
Djokovic also congratulated Kohli on his 50th ODI century, by posting an Instagram story, a gesture that resonated deeply with the Indian cricketing great.
“When I got my 50th century recently, he put out a story and he sent me a very nice message as well. So, there’s been a mutual admiration, respect.
“It’s really nice to connect with global athletes who are, you know, excelling at a high level. And I think, collectively, what I think about it is sending out a message of inspiration to the next generation in a way.
“I have a lot of respect for him, his journey, his passion for fitness, something that I dearly follow myself and believe in a lot. So there’s a lot to connect on.
“Hopefully If he comes to India sooner, I happen to be in a country where he is playing. I will definitely catch up with him and just chill out and maybe have a cup of coffee.”
With PTI inputs
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