I'm getting my confidence and momentum, and I'm playing free and playing loose.
— Denis Shapovalov
I go from being not known to being so known in the tennis world, in Canada in general. It's going to be a little bit of a change to me. I'm going to have to adapt. But that doesn't change things. I still have to work really hard every day.
I just hope to take this confidence and keep going forward.
I learned that deep within myself, if I fight to the end, I can always find a way to win.
I learned a lot from observing Wayne at the Rogers Cup. He was offered a cart across the grounds, but he wouldn't take it; he walked and stopped and signed autographs for people, and I thought that was amazing.
Every win that I've been going through, it's been securing anyone's doubts or even my own doubts about whether I belong with these guys, playing these high-level tournaments.
Obviously, it's tough - missing my parents, family in general - but I'm getting used to it. It's the life, and hopefully I'll get some time to go home maybe for a week or a bit to catch up on things.
In the head of the moment after losing a game, I lost the control of my emotions and hit the ball with an intention of hitting out of the court. Unfortunately and absolutely unintentionally I hit Mr. Arnaud Gabas, the chair umpire.
I wasn't a kid who won every tournament I was playing, and I think that helped me - it motivated me a lot to know what it felt like not to win.
Every week, it's always something memorable.
There are a lot of very good juniors who have a very high level, but mentally, they're not quite there yet.
Once it's over and you understand what's going on, it's a shame. You want to win three sets.
I always dreamed of playing a night match on Arthur Ashe Stadium. It's a dream come true for me.
I've had several tough matches. Just getting through it every day, it's really motivating.
Maybe the serve is getting bigger.
I'm trying to be a Leafs fan, but... Hopefully, in a couple of years, they might be good.
I kind of learned that it's never over until it's over in tennis.
I'm fit, but I need to get even more fit to compete with these guys every week.
I remember hitting the ball, and I didn't even realise where it went, and then I turned over, and I see the official bending down holding his eye.
If I commit to pros, I really got to stick to it, and I think it was a good decision.
I'm trying to stay humble because if I don't keep producing results, all of this goes away, so I want to focus on the people close to me - my family and my team; they mean everything to me.
I can remember watching Federer win Grand Slams on TV when I was a kid trying to put myself in his shoes.
I never assumed that I would be able to play in a main draw so quickly after Juniors. I've been having really good results. It really is a privilege. I'm very happy for the opportunity.
A lot of it's mental - a lot of the juniors, once you break them or change the momentum, they go away very quickly.
I'm playing Kyle Edmund, who is so solid. He's an unbelievable player. He goes for his shots. He's not afraid to take it to the guy.
I've never hurt a single person in my whole life - never even wanted to hurt someone.
Sascha is an unbelievable player; he's going to be a champion. Hopefully, I can get there one day. Hopefully, I can get to his level. I mean, he's still better than me. But I'll keep working hard, and hopefully we could start a little bit of a rivalry.
I've kind of seen that I'm capable to push these guys.
I live to be in these matches.
Unfortunately, I had to pull out of Vancouver. I'm really sorry; I didn't expect to go this far in Rogers Cup, and I just wanted to say, just apologize.
Those five Rogers Cup matches were physically tough, and there were late nights, up until 2 or 3 A.M. - how could I fall to sleep after beating some of my heroes?
For me, it's more important to bring my level up and make sure that I can compete against guys in the top 100 and top 50 instead of maybe being 120 or 130 and not being able to compete with those guys.
I'm very sorry to Mr. Gabas, to whom I apologised in person. Very sorry for letting my Davis Cup teammates down and for letting my country down. I apologise to all the tennis fans, to my supporters, and my sponsors. I feel ashamed of my unprofessional behaviour and will accept any consequences as a result of my action.
I learned to absolutely love the feeling of winning a tough match on a tough point or figuring out how to come back when I was down and win ugly. Walking off the court with a W just made me so happy.
I don't get nervous anymore. The first couple times I met Roger Federer, or Grigor Dimitrov, I was a little nervous. But now, it's more natural.
Everything is so much more stacked than it was even five or 10 years ago. There are so many more good players, so many solid players. The level doesn't really drop from around 100-500. It's really tough to make it, but I just have to work as hard as possible.
It's crazy how it is. I mean, I go from being not known to, you know, being so known in the tennis world, in Canada in general.
Maybe for a guy like Zverev or Federer, you could say it's open a bit. For a guy like me, every match is tough, and I'm going to have to battle it out.
