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INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

May 15, 2018

Denis Shapovalov

Rome, Italy

D. SHAPOVALOV/T. Berdych

1-6, 6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

Q. Where do you learn to write Roma?
DENIS SHAPOVALOV: My physio. My physio is Italian. So he helped me out a bit. He's trying to teach me a bit . It's a slow process, but I'm learning.

I love the language; I love the country. So I'm trying.

Q. They had the launch of the Next Gen finals this morning. I just wondered for you, do you feel it will be useful to you to play again? Are you keen to play it again after you qualified?
DENIS SHAPOVALOV: Yeah, definitely. You know, we'll see how the season unravels. But, yeah, it's a nice tournament to play at the end of the year. There's no pressure. It's just a bonus event. So, it was a lot of fun last year.

Yeah, I definitely want to go play.

Q. It was a quick turn-around from Madrid. After the first set you lost today, were you thinking - - were you too tired, was it too much? Obviously, you found a way to still win that one .
DENIS SHAPOVALOV: I wasn't tired. I just couldn't find my footing the first set. The clay is so different here. I haven't had really a chance to practice alone on the court, so I couldn't really get my timing.

But, yeah, just kept fighting. You know, kept competing. And I'm really happy I got to turn the match around.

Yes, you know, told myself, yeah, look, I had a great week last week. Tried to find that game that I played, that confidence you have in yourself.

I did a good job of just staying positive and, yeah, just keep on fighting. And, yeah, I'm really happy I got the win.

Q. You have had, also, a coach of Italian origins in your past. Adriano.
DENIS SHAPOVALOV: Yeah, he was Canadian-Italian.

Q. Can you tell us if he had any impact in like, I don't know, building your amazing backhand maybe?
DENIS SHAPOVALOV: No, my backhand's from my mom, sorry. Yeah, all my technique is from my mom. You know, she started me up until 13.

And then I traveled with Adriano for three or four years. Obviously, you know, he made me work hard and taught me a lot of things on the tour.

But, yeah, technique-wise, it was all my mom.

Q. You're becoming the new Canadian No. 1. How does that feel?
DENIS SHAPOVALOV: Oh, yeah?

Q. Yeah. You didn't know?
DENIS SHAPOVALOV: Oh, I had no idea.

Wow, that's cool. I mean, um ...

That's pretty crazy, actually.

No. I mean, yeah. It's something I've wanted to work towards for all my life. So, to actually do it --

I had no idea I was able to reach it, honestly. So, to be able to do that, yeah, it's pretty crazy.

You know, hopefully I could help the country -- lead the country to a Davis Cup victory one day.

Q. You are very young but have obviously been playing for many years. Now what you're creating, does it feel like this is happening very quickly for you or does it feel like, you know, a long time?
DENIS SHAPOVALOV: Yeah, it's definitely happened extremely quickly.

Yeah, it's -- I had no idea, so I'm a little bit in shock.

But, yeah, I mean, I've worked - - like I said, I've worked hard to try to achieve this a long time in my career. It's crazy that it's come so early.

But, yeah, that's exciting for me. It's great news. It's a reason to keep working, keep staying motivated and, yeah, you know, hopefully -- hopefully I can keep going, so ...

Q. The only match you had last year against Berdych was last year in Queen's, when you were just pretty much, you know, breaking into the top. How would you evaluate your last year?
DENIS SHAPOVALOV: Again, just my last year or ...

Q. Yeah, pretty much the experience tennis-wise and also life on tour in this last year.
DENIS SHAPOVALOV: Yeah, it's -- I've gained a lot of experience. You know, it's my first full year as a tour player. So I'm going to all these new events, you know. This is my first time in Rome.

And every week, it's something new for me. So, it's extremely fun.

Last year, at the end of the year, when I started traveling to all these ATP events I kind of, you know, got a little bit homesick. First of all, I felt like I didn't belong with these guys. I felt like, yeah, I had two good tournaments but I don't know if my level's, you know, there yet.

So, yeah, I got homesick. It was a long trip. You know, I didn't enjoy it at all.

But after the off-season, I sat down with my team and I kind of knew what to expect this season. And, you know, with that mind-set I started enjoying it. I started enjoying all the media, everything. Going to different cities every week.

And, to be honest now, I'm really enjoying the tour and lovin' it. Hopefully, I can do this for as long as possible.

Q. Do you think the way you felt homesick and all that, was that partly because of your age? That happens to a lot of people when they're traveling far away from all their friends.
DENIS SHAPOVALOV: Definitely.

You know, last year I was 18 years old. And all my friends were headed to university, you know, finishing high school. And, you know, just doin' regular 18-year-old stuff.

I felt like I was already beginning a career with pro players and everyone so much older than me. So it was not so easy to fit in.

Obviously I had a couple of good Canadian friends. I was hanging out with Vasek a lot.

But, yeah, I mean after, like I said, after I got home, after I took a bit of a break and sat down in the off-season I realized, like, this is my job, this is what I chose to do. And, yeah, with that mind-set, like I said, I started to enjoy it. And slowly, you know, I just -- I started to really like it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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