When Federico Coria reached the Belgrade Open quarter-finals with a victory over Pablo Cuevas, there was only one thought in his mind: his next opponent was going to be World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
But the prospect did not fill him with anxiety or nerves, as it would have done in the past. Playing for his second tour-level quarter-final of the year (also Cordoba), Coria instead embraced the challenge – even letting it serve as ‘extra motivation’ to get over the finish line in his 6-3, 6-2 victory.
“During today’s match [against Cuevas], honestly it gave me a bit of extra motivation,” Coria told press afterwards. “I tried to run after every ball knowing that I could earn the chance to play against one of the greatest tennis players in history.
“Life and tennis are giving me this beautiful moment, no matter what the result. I feel like I’ve already won by having an experience like this at this point in my life, and that’s how I’m going to approach it.”
The 29-year-old Argentine has long been candid about his career-long struggle with anxiety and self-sabotage – and the pressure that comes along with having to live up to a big legacy.
The younger brother of Guillermo Coria, a nine-time ATP Tour titlist and 2004 Roland Garros finalist, Federico previously admitted that there were times during his career when he didn’t allow himself to put in his maximum effort out of fear of failing to meet expectations. As a result, Coria spent much of his career outside the Top 200 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, and even considered hanging up his racquets for good.
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But armed with a new coach, a psychologist and a strong support team around him, at 29 years old Coria now sits inside the Top 100 after reaching a career-high World No. 83 earlier this year. He’s into his third ATP Tour quarter-final in Belgrade, and will now get a meeting with one of the Big Three – Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – for the first time.
“I consider these to be small victories: to be able to play against Djokovic in his home city, in the quarter-finals of an ATP event, and to share that experience with my team,” Coria said. “To me, it’s a victory that at 29 years old I can still achieve my dreams in tennis.
“Now, the idea of facing Nole brings only a big smile to my face because for much of my career, this matchup was unthinkable. I spent a long time on the outside [of ATP main draws and Top 200 of the FedExATP Rankings] or not playing, and now to be playing against Nole? I was running after every ball like a maniac today only thinking that this possibility was so close, and thankfully I will have the chance.”
While it will be Djokovic and Federico’s first meeting, it won’t be Djokovic’s first experience playing against a member of the Coria family. The World No. 1 played his older brother Guillermo – who was nicknamed ‘El Mago’ (the Magician) for his clay-court prowess – four times between 2005-06, and amassed a 2-2 ATP Head2Head record against the Argentine.
“How he walks, he reminds me a lot of his older brother on the court,” Djokovic said in his own post-match press conference. “He’s a fighter like his brother and doesn’t doesn’t give up, not even one point. He’s got that spirit of fighting and making sure that the player beats him rather than he beats himself.”
Djokovic, who was pushed to a second-set tie-break by World No. 253 Mats Moraing on Tuesday, will be prepared for a battle as he faces the Argentine on his opponent’s favourite surface.
“He will not have much to lose,” Djokovic added. “I’m sure he’s really motivated to play his best tennis and he’s probably going to [get] some really good advice from his older brother. But I’m looking forward to that.”
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