Félix Agar-Aliassime’s great epic of fatherhood

New York | Sam Aliasim learned the basics of tennis on the courts of the hotel where his father worked. “Obviously it’s for the consumers, not the kids. But we are invited to play! »

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Mr. Aliasim and tennis have a love story that will last forever. However, in his native Togo, it is soccer that usually gets hearts racing.

“In Africa, we were a strange family because we played tennis, he said Log. I played soccer, but I wasn’t terrible. When I realized I wouldn’t go far, I switched to tennis. »

He wanted to turn his racket into a career. As a player, of course. It didn’t work out, but he made his mark in other ways.

Because, nearly four decades later, Mr. Aliassime now has an academy named after him at Club Avantage de Quebec. And he is also (or especially?) the father of world number eight Felix, who he trained until he was 14 years old.

Sam Aliassime’s story is one of resilience and passion. When he arrived in Quebec 26 years ago, there was no indication that he would succeed in carving out a place for himself in the department.

A coach in Togo, he lent his support to the Quebec and Canadian confederations in his first years in the country, he said. His offer was rejected.

But the first time he traveled through Montreal, Mr. Aliassime thought he had found the perfect shoe.

“It’s afternoon,” he explained. From the window, I saw the pitches of the Stade Jarry. As soon as we landed, I looked everywhere for them. »