Originally try love as novice (4)
I believe the answer is:
tyro
'novice' is the definition.
('tyro' can be a synonym of 'novice')
'originally try love' is the wordplay.
'originally' indicates an anagram.
'love' becomes 'o' (In tennis, 'love' means 'zero').
'try' with letters rearranged gives 'tyr'.
'tyr'+'o'='TYRO'
'as' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for tyro that I've seen before include "Learner" , "Apprentice" , "Spell for rookie" , "Neophyte" , "Initiate" .)