"Novak Djokovic was extremely distressed" - Federico Coria revisits practicing with Serb at Australian Open 2022 amid vaccination controversy

Federico Coria has revisited his practice with Novak Djokovic ahead of the 2022 Australian Open, shortly before the Serb was controversially deported by Australia's federal government.

Djokovic had come to Australia that year on the hunt for his 21st Grand Slam title. The Serb entered the country with the help of a medical exemption, which initially ruled him eligible to play at the Australian Open amid then-ongoing COVID-19 concerns. However, soon after Djokovic's arrival in the country, he was detained after failing to meet the entry requirements for unvaccinated travelers.

Eventually, the Serb was released from detention after Australia's Federal Circuit and Family Court's intervention. Following his release, Djokovic had to wait on the country's immigration minister, Alex Hawke, to see if his visa would be canceled for a second time, which would render him ineligible to play.

During this waiting period, the Serb took part in a practice session at Melbourne Park with Coria. In a recent interview with CLAY, Coria was asked what he remembers from the practice with Djokovic. The 32-year-old recalled the Serb's distress at the time and also looked back on his decision to support Djokovic at a time when several players disagreed with the Serb's choice to remain unvaccinated.

"He (Djokovic) was extremely distressed, he was having a very bad time. He was very excited to be allowed to play. We already know the end of the story. He received great respect, because at the time many players turned their backs on him or did not agree with how he proceeded," Coria told Clay.

The Argentine also cheekily remembered how Djokovic made him work extremely hard during the practice session.

"It wasn't his or my best moment. I had to tell him to stop making me run because he had been locked up and I was about to die," Coria added.

Novak Djokovic returned to the Australian Open in 2023 and won his record-extending tenth title

Novak Djokovic kissing the 2023 Australian Open trophy

Despite being embroiled in the vaccination and visa controversy that eventually ruled him out of the 2022 Australian Open, Djokovic returned to the Grand Slam with a vengeance the following year.

The fourth-seeded Serb reached the final after defeating Roberto Carballes Baena, Enzo Couacaud, Grigor Dimitrov, Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev, and Tommy Paul. In the final, he faced third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, in a rematch of the 2021 French Open final, which Djokovic won after miraculously coming back from two sets down.

However, Tsitsipas failed to recapture his form from the final in Roland Garros. The Greek slumped to a 3-6 loss in the first set. He forced tiebreaks in both the second and third sets, but Djokovic won them both 7-6(4), 7-6(5) to clinch a record-extending tenth Australian Open title.