India batting great Virat Kohli opened up on his bond with Tennis legend Novak Djokovic and stated that they share a mutual admiration for each other. He also wished the Serb the best for the Australia Open 2024.
Kohli, who missed the first T20I against Afghanistan for personal reasons, will be seen in action in the second match to be played in Indore on January 14, 2024.
Meanwhile, Djokovic, who has won a record 10 Australian Open titles, will look to go past Margaret Court, to become the player with the most Grand Slam titles. Djokovic and Court are currently tied at 24 Grand Slam titles, the most in tennis history.
In a video shared by BCCI, Kohli talked about how he and Djokovic got in contact and have kept messaging one another since then.
“I got in touch with Novak very organically, I think on I was just looking at his profile once on Instagram, and I just happened to press the message button and thought I would just say hello. And then I saw a message from him on my DM already. I had never opened it myself. 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 now and then. I congratulated him for all his amazing achievements,” said Kohli.
Kohli said Djokovic sent him a nice message after his 50th ODI hundred at the 2023 ODI World Cup, insisting that it’s nice to connect with global athletes.
“When I got my 50th century recently, I think he put out a story and he sent me a very nice message as well. So there's been mutual admiration and respect, and it’s nice to connect with global athletes who are playing at a high level. I think collectively, it's sending out a message of inspiration to the next generation.
As I said, I have a lot of respect for him and his journey. His passion for fitness is 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 soon, or I happen to be in a country where he's playing, we'll definitely catch up and just chill out and maybe have a cup of coffee,” Kohli added.
He also wished the Serb tennis legend the best for the upcoming Australian Open 2024 and hoped that the world would see the best of him in the tournament.
“I would like to wish you all the very best for the Australian Open. I know how excited and prepared you are for these big events, and I do not doubt that we'll see the Novak Djokovic that we've seen over the years. I hope you have a great tournament,” said Kohli.
Here is the video:
