Federer’s fan wakes from 11-year coma, amazed his idol still dominates
Roger Federer, of Switzerland, celebrates on the court after beating Thiemo De Bakker, of The Netherlands, giving Switzerland a 3-1 lead, after the third match of the Davis Cup World Group Play-off round match between Switzerland and Netherlands, in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015. AP
Roger Federer’s fan, who was in a coma for more than a decade, was amazed that his idol is still dominating the tennis world.
According to a Rolling Stone report, Jesus Aparicio, a Federer fan, was severely injured in a car crash on December 12, 2004, which put him in a coma for nearly 11 years before waking up on August 27, 2015.
Exactly three months before Aparicio’s vehicular incident, Federer beat Lleyton Hewitt during the US Open finals, won three Grand Slam titles, and, for the first time in his career, rose to the No. 1 world rankings.
Before resuming to speak, Aparicio took a while in his recovery speech. One of the first things he asked when he could talk again was about Federer.
READ: Federer back to second in ATP world rankings
“When I knew that, at 34 years, he is still playing and is No. 2 in the world, I thought they were kidding me,” Aparicio told Tennis World.”When I heard that he reached 17 Slam titles, I put my hands on my face.”
READ: Djokovic beats Federer in US Open final
Aparicio, who wanted to go to Wimbledon to watch Federer play but was unable due to the accident, woke up days before the 2015 US Open, giving Aparicio the chance to watch Federer play after more than 10 years, only to see him defeated by Novak Djokovic.
It was the first time Aparicio saw Djokovic. “I was really surprised to see him play well,” he said. “Djokovic is good.”
Aparicio hopes to see Federer in person before the icon stops playing tennis.
