Tennis News Today: Roger Federer reveals childhood crush he never got to meet, Carlos Alcaraz gets worrying injury scare at Japan Open

As the Asian tennis swing continues, ATP stars Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and others enjoyed the opening party while Holger Rune performed a traditional dance at the Japan Open. The WTA 1000 tournament in China is also set to begin tomorrow, with top seed Iga Swiatek facing Chinese Yue Yuan in the first round.

Newlywed Felix Auger-Aliassime won hearts with sweet words about his wife Nina, from their first meeting as more images of their beautiful multicultural wedding were released. Aryna Sabalenka, on the other hand, is enjoying her time off from the sport along with boyfriend Georgios Frangulis and sister Tonechka, while also recovering from injury.

On that note, let us take a look at the top tennis news from today:

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#1. Roger Federer names his childhood crush and expresses sadness on not being able to meet her

Roger Federer named his childhood crush during a lighthearted interview with Nigerian singer-songwriter Burna Boy. The duo took part in a show named "GOAT Talk' representing the athleisure brand ON, where the 20-time Grand Slam champion confessed to being sad about not being able to meet his crush.

In a segment on the show, both shared their childhood crushes, where Federer revealed that his childhood crush was Cindy Crawford. However, he was disappointed in not being able to meet her.

"Cindy Crawford was huge in our time, growing up, never met her so I feel the pain," said Federer.

Roger Federer also recently appeared on the 'Served Podcast' with Andy Roddick a few days back.

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#2. Carlos Alcaraz suffers major injury scare at the Japan Open

Carlos Alcaraz seemingly rolled his left ankle during the first few games of his first-round match against Sebastian Baez at the ongoing Japan Open. He was immediately attended by a medic as he sat in the middle of the court, trying to digest the sudden pain in his ankle.

After receiving some assistance, Alcaraz managed to wrap up the match 6-4, 6-2, but later in the press conference, he revealed,

"I was scared. I'm not gonna lie. I felt my ankle and didn't feel great. I'm just happy to be able to play after that. I will try to be ready for the next match," Carlos Alcaraz added. "It was unlucky. In the first five minutes I thought I wouldn't continue."

The Spaniard would hope to be back on track before his next match against Zizou Bergs.

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#3. Carlos Alcaraz not relieved by Jannik Sinner's absence from the Japan Open

Carlos Alcaraz was not relieved to be playing separate tournaments with Jannik Sinner, as the Spaniard skipped the China Open to take part in the tournament in Tokyo. After facing each other in three major finals this year, Alcaraz, during a short interview (via Tennis Channel), revealed that he wanted to try new things in a new place but said that he would have loved for Sinner to be there.

"Well, it's not a relief, to be honest. I love playing against him. I think every time that we play against each other, it helps me to be better and to increase my level, which I love. But, you know, I wanted to play in a different place, in a different stadium that I haven't played in ever," he continued. "So, for me, that's what I changed. But, you know, it's great playing with other players as well and, you know, mix the tournaments a little bit."

Carlos Alcaraz won the China Open last year.

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#4. "He's 40" - Frances Tiafoe thinks Novak Djokovic does not count his age

Frances Tiafoe, during an interview with Olympics.com, counted Novak Djokovic out of the tally while naming people who would challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's current dominance. He brought up Novak Djokovic and mentioned that he is older and had already established himself as a GOAT to be a part of this conversation anymore.

"Novak (Djokovic) doesn't count. He’s 40. I love him, but doesn't count. He’s 40. He's a GOAT, he's the best player of all time. He's not with those guys," he said in the lighthearted interview.

Tiafoe is currently playing in the Japan Open and can face Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinal.

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#5. Jannik Sinner's ex-physio opened up on life after Italian's doping row

Jannik Sinner's former physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, opened up about his life since he was under the fire earlier this year for the Italian's doping row. He opened up about his tarnished image after the Italian was detected for clostebol from an over-the-counter spray, which was reportedly used by the physio.

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Naldi refrained from giving any information on the incident, but said that he really didn't expect his words to be twisted and taken out of context.

"These are the first official statements I have made since everything happened; sometimes words have been put in my mouth, taken out of context, which have triggered social media hate and controversies against me," he said.

Naldi also said that he still maintains a healthy relationship with the Italian, irrespective of their professional rift.