Denis Shapovalov, who stunned Nick Kyrgios on Monday in the first round in Toronto, says he enjoys being in the spotlight.

The 17-year-old wild card, coming off winning the junior title at Wimbledon, defeated Kyrgios, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3, in a night match at his hometown tournament.

"I love playing on a big stage," said Shapovalov, who got more demonstrative as the match went on. “…At the start I didn't kind of know how to act. It's tough playing the first time on Centre Court. But by the end of the match, I felt like the crowd really liked it when I was getting pumped up."

While Kyrgios appeared distracted and unsettled during portions of the match, Shapovalov said a hold in the first game settled his nerves.

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"I thought I played some pretty good points, and he just played even better the first three points," he said. "It was 0-40. So from 0-40, I just told myself, 'OK, just play every point.' That was a pretty big game. It kind of set the tone of the match."

Though he said he did not expect to win the match, the big-serving Canadian with a one-handed backhand said his game is not that far away from those of high-ranking players.

"I was a little bit surprised,” he admitted. “But to be honest, I played a couple of players now, and I have played them tight. I was practicing with Tomas Berdych and I went 6-4 in a set with him.”

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Shapovalov has played largely on the junior and International Tennis Federation circuits this season. He played his first ATP match just a week ago in Washington, D.C., falling in three sets to Lukas Lacko.

Shapovalov is No. 370 in the rankings.