“He’s the best ever, how could I not ask?”: Argentinian star recalls the selfie with Djokovic that caught Kyrgios’ eye

Former top-50 ATP star Federico Coria recalled a particular episode in his career when he received strong criticism from Nick Kyrgios after taking a photo with Novak Djokovic following a thrashing on the court. The Argentine joked about the criticism he received from his Australian colleague, who didn't find it very professional that the South American took the defeat so lightly.

Back in May 2021, Coria reached the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 Belgrade Open—a tournament owned by the Djokovic family and featuring the Serb as the main star of the draw. It was there that Coria ran into the 24-time Grand Slam champion, who swept him aside with a score of 6-1, 6-0 in favor of the legendary Serb.

At the end of the match, a situation drew attention: the Argentine stopped Djokovic before he left the court and asked him for a photo immediately after the tough defeat. On that occasion, the photo shared on social media received a response from none other than Nick Kyrgios—true to his controversial style.

"So you are taking a photo after he has literally burnt you off the court. Very, very strange mentality to have. Joker one of the greats for sure, but come on, losing a set 6-0, then asking for a photo? That ain't it," while in another comment, Kyrgios added, "This guy is a 'professional.'"

Coria—currently 35 years old—has been juggling his career recently with appearances in streams, as well as his YouTube vlog, where he shows part of the life of a tennis player who does not habitually live the luxury of major tournaments but must compete in Challenger events in search of wins and points that allow him to qualify for the big tournaments.

The younger brother of Guillermo Coria (former World No. 3) has not had continuity on the Tour for a while, due to injuries that have complicated him over the last couple of years and currently have him outside the top-400. Nevertheless, the Argentine always shows his good humor, and in a recent interview, he again referred to the famous selfie with Djokovic back in 2021, as well as the criticism he received from his colleague Kyrgios.

“When I played against Djokovic, he absolutely destroyed me — and I still asked him for a photo,” Coria said. “Then Kyrgios came out and criticised me, saying, ‘How can you ask for a photo after getting beaten like that? That’s so unprofessional.’ I wanted to tell him, ‘Mate, you don’t know my story. You don’t know what it means for me to be playing a quarter-final, in Serbia, against the best player in history, when just two years ago I was about to retire because I couldn’t win a match.’”

“So where are you coming from to say that to me? You know what I’d say to you? That you hide behind the excuse of giving it your all — you’ve got insane talent, but you don’t have the guts to put it on the line and do things the right way. Because you’ve got everything it takes to be top-5,” added the former World No. 49, before softening his tone. “Maybe he’d say the same to me — ‘you don’t know that I…’ — and then we’d go back and forth. But honestly, I still respect him a lot.”