Roger Federer's biggest fan suffered a coma but woke to watch him again
Wednesday 23 September 2015 16:39, UK
A Roger Federer fan has awoken from an 11-year coma to discover his hero is still challenging for tennis' top prizes.
In December 2004, Jesus Aparicio was seriously injured in a car accident that would leave him in a coma until August of this year.
His injuries were sustained just months after a 23-year-old Federer, his sporting idol, beat Lleyton Hewitt in the US Open final. It was his third Grand Slam of a stellar year and cemented him as the world No 1.
When Aparicio awoke from his coma this summer and recovered his speech, he asked about whatever had become of Federer.
"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."
Aparicio had been planning to watch Federer in person at Wimbledon at the time of his accident, however he did awake in time to see this year's US Open.
The Swiss legend succumbed to current world No 1 Novak Djokovic in the final - a result which surprised his biggest fan.
"I was really surprised to see him play well," he said. "Djokovic is good."
