Inside the unlikely friendship between tennis star Jelena Ostapenko and rap icon Lil Wayne

• e-mail

Tennis star Jelena Ostapenko and rapper Lil Wayne have struck an unlikely friendship with one another.

The budding bond first began back in April, when Ostapenko was asked by the Tennis Channel about attending a Drake show in Miami.

'I think it was nice but honestly the part where it was Lil Wayne - I liked way better,' she revealed.

'I felt like his vibe and the music was so nice. And when there was Drake I was just standing, I was not dancing much. And when Lil Wayne came out I was dancing every single song.'

The moment stayed mostly under the radar until Lil Wayne re-shared the video clip to his Instagram page - and added his own message to Ostapenko.

Jelena Ostapenko and Lil Wayne have become unlikely pals after the tennis star saw him live

 'Thanks for da luv,' he said.

The 27-year-old Latvian was then asked about the rapper's shout-out following her win over Ajla Tomljanovic in the first round of Wimbledon - and even invited him to watch her play.

'It was crazy, he has like 18 or 19 million followers on Instagram, and when I saw this for the first time I was like 'Wow, he saw it and he's aware of it.' It's unbelievable,' Ostapenko said again on the Tennis Channel.

'He also sent me a message saying that he's my big fan as well. So for me, that was like … I was staring at my phone. I stopped and I was staring at my phone for like five minutes. I couldn't believe Lil Wayne texted me. I mean, it's amazing.

'I would love to see him in my box, maybe when I'm playing in the US Open or when I'm in the U.S. I would love to see him watching me play, of course!'

To that, Wayne responded on X, 'Ima have to pull up.'

Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko returns the ball to US player Bernarda Pera during their match

Lil Wayne was seen enjoying a match between Djokovic and Medvedev at last year's US Open

It's far from the first time that the rapper - whose real name is  Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. - has forayed into the tennis world.

Back in 2010, when he was imprisoned at Rikers Island, he was asked by Sports Illustrated for his predictions on the US Open - and incredibly picked both the men's and women's champions, Rafael Nadal and Kim Clijsters.

Wayne was also spotted enjoying the action at the US Open last summer.

Since her win over Tomljanovic, world no. 14 Ostapenko has advanced to the fourth round of Wimbledon, and is set to face Yulia Putintseva on Monday.