ITF

It is the summer of 2008 and an eight- year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime is at home with his family watching the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing on television. Some of those family members are not particularly big sports fans but that matters little as this is the Olympics and, in the Auger-Aliassime household, that is a big deal. Everyone is glued to the screen as athletes and competitors file into the Bird's Nest. This is Montreal-born Auger-Aliassime's first exposure to the Olympics and he is mesmerised by what he witnesses. This fascination only intensifies during a landmark Games which see Usain Bolt break the 100m world record in front of 91,000 fans. Bolt's majesty on the track represents the first of eight Olympic gold medals for the legendary Jamaican sprinter, while these Games are also noteworthy for American swimmer Michael Phelps posting record- breaking dominance in the pool. The whole experience has a major impact upon Auger-Aliassime, whose Olympic journey can be traced to the Opening Ceremony of 2008. He has since grown into one of the emerging talents of world tennis and a fully signed up member of the sport's next generation. In what must seem like a blink of an eye to some huddled around the television that day, Auger-Aliassime has come of age. His Olympic debut in Tokyo is only days away and the biggest stage of all awaits his presence. "I remember the feeling of watching the Opening Ceremony on TV in 2008 and trying to see the athletes I knew from Canada and those I thought could win a medal," Auger- Aliassime tells ITFWorld. "I was amazed by them and remember dreaming of one day walking where they walk. Just to see myself in their shoes now and think there is a kid back home who is watching and maybe thinking the same as I did is amazing. "Honestly, I am so excited. The Olympics was always a dream of mine growing up and my first memory was seeing how big it was. It reaches way further than your own sport or yourself. I love the Olympics and it will be a dream come true. "To be able to represent my country, a nation which has given me so much, on that scale and at that level, and have the opportunity to bring home a medal, is something really amazing. To be 20 years old and able to say I am going to be an Olympian, it is something very special." Canada have only ever won one Olympic tennis medal, with Daniel Nestor and Sebastien Auger- Aliassime is set to realise his dream of represen ng Canada at an Olympic Games Canada's rising star Felix Auger- Aliassime remembers the moment he fell in love with the Olympics and talks humanitarian aid, Toni Nadal and Davis Cup revenge as he prepares to walk the walk in Tokyo ITF World Summer 2021 07 'I REMEMBER DREAMING OF ONE DAY WALKING WHERE THEY WALK' OLYMPIC GAMES

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