With his backwards baseball cap and flourishing one-handed backhand, Denis Shapovalov has become a household name for tennis fans after his historic run at the Rogers Cup in Montreal last week.

The 18-year-old made history at the men’s tennis tournament as the youngest to ever to play a Master's 1000 semifinal.

Shapovalov shot from 143rd to 67th in the ATP singles ranking after an unexpected run to the semifinal.

Though he says he thinks he’s still a few years away from playing consistently at the top level, the sudden fame and media attention was a lot to take in for the rising star.

 

“I spent a couple days in Toronto with my family and friends. It was a life-changing week. We really wanted to take time to appreciate what happened and allow us to kind of move on from it,” he said.

Now it’s back to basics, stroke by stroke, as he prepares for a shot at another big stage.

Shapovalov's next stop will be the U.S. Open qualifying rounds.

The teen addressed the media in Montreal Thursday before he heads to New York for the tournament.

He also spent an hour and a half running through drills during a practice and saying hello to fans.

He'll be joined at the qualifiers by fellow Canadian up-and-comer Felix Auger Aliassime.

“It's going to be tough. Qualifiers are not easy. It's three rounds and you can get really tough players,” he said.

Helping Shapovalov along the way is coach Martin Laurendeau -- and another coach he's known his whole life.

“If it wasn't for my mom, I wouldn't be here playing tennis. She played as a pro and she coached me up until 13 full-time and she still helps a lot in the team,” he said.

He also has good friends on the tour, like Canadian Vasek Pospisil, who he said gave him the best advice on coping with the ups and downs of the game.

“He was telling me how he likes my game and he likes how I go for it. He told me not to change that because a lot of players in the big moments, they seize up and get tight in big moments and stop going for it. He really liked that I go for my shots no matter what the score is. And he told me to keep doing that,” he said.

With files from The Canadian Press