Tennis great Novak Djokovic heaped praise on Indian cricketing legend Virat Kohli, and called him a friend. The 24-time Grand Slam champion was at the 2026 Laureus World Sports Awards, where he was hosting the evening with freestyle skiing sensation Eileen Gu. During the ceremony, Djokovic opened up on his love for Indian fans and revealed that he got interested in cricket, because of Kohli. The Serbian superstar said that he has long admired India and its passionate fans, while sharing that he wants to visit the country soon.

"My message is always love, respect, appreciation, first of all... for all the support over the years that I've personally been receiving from all the Indian tennis fans and Indian sports fans around the world,” Djokovic told Times Now. He added, "I really hope that I'll be able to come to India and do an event, play a match or whatever it is. I really wish for that because I feel very close to Indian people."

Djokovic also talked about Indian cricketing star Virat Kohli and said that he is the reason the Serbian started to follow cricket. "Yes, Virat is a friend and someone I respect and admire. He's actually...the reason why I started following cricket,” Djokovic added.

Novak Djokovic breaks Roger Federer’s record for most career weeks in Top 5 in ATP rankings

Novak Djokovic recently surpassed Roger Federer’s record to kick off his 860th career week in the Top 5 of ATP rankings. He now possesses most career weeks in the Top 5 in ATP rankings history. Federer previously held the record with 859 weeks, followed by Rafael Nadal on the third spot at 837 weeks. Notably, out of those, Djokovic spent 428 weeks among those 860 weeks to remain at No. 1, the most in ATP rankings history.

NOVAK'S 860 WEEKS IN THE TOP 5 BY RANKING

No. 1: 428 weeks

No. 2: 171 weeks

No. 3: 165 weeks

No. 4: 59 weeks (incl. week of April 20th, 2026)

No. 5: 37 weeks