Denis Shapovalov might be young, but he certainly knows the difference between '2' and '143'.
Yet on a Thursday night in front of a packed Aviva Centre Stadium, and with thousands of other Canadians watching on television, Shapovalov proved that, at least for one night, 143 could be greater than two, when the 18-year-old Canadian stunned Rafael Nadal and the tennis world with his Round of 16 upset in Rogers Cup play.
"It was tough to believe against Nadal that I would have a chance to win," Shapovalov said on a conference call Thursday. "He's such a champion, and I'm not a bad player, but just by rankings alone, and by odds, he's way better."
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Those rankings, those of the Association of Tennis Professionals, pegged Nadal as the second-best player in the world, and Shapovalov at 143rd.
"I still see myself as a player as 150 in the world," Shapovalov said. "Obviously my ranking is different, but it was just one good week."
Shapovalov's profile has exponentially grown in short order from bubble ATP player to his current rank of 67th in the world, the second-highest Canadian. His next challenge is to qualify for the U.S. Open, with those matches beginning next week in New York. Shapovalov's life is different now, from how frequently he's being recognized across Canada, to the attention he's getting from the media and on social media.
"It's hard to believe, but everyone has a different transition," said Shapovalov, who saw his ATP rank slingshot up 76 spots with his performance in Montreal. "Sometimes it's quick, sometimes it's long, and I'm very fortunate to have a week at Rogers Cup like I did. It's incredible just to be a part of the event; it's a dream come true."
Rewind to January, the beginning of the tennis season. Shapovalov sat down with his team and hashed out goals for the year. Among them included winning a Challengers event (which he did in July) and cracking the top 150 on the ATP World ranking (which he did with his Challengers victory in Quebec.
It was time to set new goals.
"I've put a lot of work into it and so has my team, so it's not only my achievement, but it's my whole team," Shapovalov said. "We've been working really hard this year to achieve my goals. We're very happy."
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The next stop on the roadmap was to enter the top 100-ranked players in the world but, ho hum, Shapovalov needed only 21 days to do so, ascending from 130th July 24 to his current position Aug. 14.
It hasn't been so much of a rollercoaster ride for Shapovalov as a Ferris wheel that's stuck at its apex. But the people in his inner circle, specifically his family, Shapovalov said, have kept everything in perspective.
"My parents, they worked extremely hard to get where they are in their lives, so I'm very fortunate to have two good parents that always keep me in line," he said. "My brother, he's always there for me through the good and bad, and he always keeps me in check to make sure that I'm just a good human being. I don't see why anyone should act differently for the rankings, or for the person they are. We're all humans, and I feel like everyone is equal, and everyone deserves respect. That's how I was brought up, and that's how I try to be every day."
Cliché of course, but in sports, such is life, and such is a sign of maturity for the teenage tennis star who at every stop takes a chance to credit his team of coaches and trainers, and in an individual sport, claim team success.
"It's a very exciting time of life for me, but at the end of the day, I still have to work hard to make sure that I can stay in this position, and then hopefully move up in the future," he said.
Because as surreal as his experience in Montreal ["It's incredible just to be a part of the event"] and as much fame as he gained as a result, in part a reflection of his age ("Obviously my Insta and Twitter was blowing up a couple of days ago, so that was pretty crazy") Shapovalov's ultimate goals and best tennis, he said, are in front of him.
"It's tough to talk about a ceiling," Shapovalov said. "It's the future — nobody can predict it — but for me the goal I would like to have is to lift a Grand Slam. That would be just ridiculous for me. I know what it would be to be No. 1 in the world. It's too tough to think about what I can achieve."