Jesus Aparicio of Spain was in a coma for 11 years. A die-hard Roger Federer fan, he was thrilled to find that, after over a decade of being out of the loop, his favorite player was still at the top of his game.
According to Tennisworld.com, Aparicio had been saving money to watch Federer play at Wimbledon in 2005 before crashing his car in December of 2004 and falling into his coma.
When he awoke after being out for more than a decade, on Aug. 27, 2015, it occurred to him to inquire after his tennis idol, whereupon he discovered Federer was once again vying for a major championship.
“It came like a flash to my mind and I asked about Roger,” Aparicio said. “I thought he had retired.
“When I knew that, at 34 years, he is still playing and is No. 2 in the world, I thought they were kidding me. When I heard that he reached 17 Slam titles, I put my hands on my face.
“I knew Federer was very good, but I never thought he could win all he has won.”
The Spaniard was able to watch the highly-anticipated final with Federer taking on No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Unfortunately for Federer and his fan, Djokovic was the victor.
Aparicio was impressed by both competitors.
“I was really surprised to see him play well,” he said. “Djokovic is good.”
Of course, since he never did get to make it to Wimbledon in 2005, Aparicio still desires to see Federer play in person, saying “I want to see his match before he retires, perhaps his 18th Slam.”
We certainly wish him well in this endeavor.