Novak Djokovic reacts after Sachin Tendulkar praises legend for ‘love-all’ moment with Steve Smith

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar was awestruck after seeing Novak Djokovic and Steve Smith involved.

In a light-hearted moment on the court before the 2024 edition of the Australian Open, which is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, January 14.

The 34-year-old Smith visited the Melbourne Park where he played tennis with Djokovic, who also had fun with the cricket bat. Seeing the camaraderie between Smith and Djokovic, Tendulkar showed his joy in his own unique manner.

“Beautiful to see two accomplished sportsmen having a moment. The score is ‘love-all’,” Sachin wrote on ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter.

Tendulkar’s message didn’t elude the eyes of Djokovic, who replied with an emoticon of ‘folded hands’, expressing gratitude.

As far as Djokovic is concerned, having won as many as nine Australian Open titles, he will go into the hard-court tournament as a firm favourite. The 36-year-old will be up against Croatia’s Dino Prizmic in the first round on Sunday.

Smith, in the meantime, recently joined the Sydney Sixers for the 2023-24 edition of the Big Bash League (BBL). Opening the batting against Sydney Thunder at the iconic SCG, he bagged a golden duck as left-arm pacer Daniel Sams accounted for his wicket.

Steve is now set for his new role as the opener of the Australian Test team after David Warner retired from the purest format following the Sydney Test against Shan Masood’s Pakistan.

Having batted all his life in the middle-order, Smith will now be looking to show his prowess in Test cricket. The veteran will next play in the opening Test against the West Indies from Wednesday, January 17 at the Adelaide Oval.