If you’re a tennis fan you’re probably already familiar with the name Denis Shapovalov, but for many his run at this year’s US Open was their first real look at the 18-year-old Canadian wonderkid.

He managed to advance to the fourth round before losing to Pablo Careno Busta, Kevin Anderson’s opponent in the semis, and has now climbed to number 51 in the world rankings.

Not that those in the know were all that surprised, given that Denis has already beaten Rafa Nadal this year.

CNN are suitably impressed, calling him both a ‘wonderkid’ and ‘the most talked about teenager in tennis’, so they decided to take a closer look.

Turns out you’re not the only one who struggles to pronounce his name:

You’re going to need to see that video of him smashing a ball into the umpire’s face again:

Right in the snout.

According to CBC, he is doing well to keep his feet on the ground:

My goal in life is to get a lot of kids picking up the racquet and look up to me and play tennis and see that it’s possible for Canadians to do it,” he said.

And when asked about how he’s able to stay grounded, he pointed to his parents.

“My mom works extremely hard and has her [tennis] academy. She actually wasn’t able to come out to the U.S. Open because she’s so dedicated to her kids,” Shapovalov said. “My dad is helping out at the club. They are both very humble people who didn’t come from much.”

Shapovalov will be at his mom’s academy this week to spend time with her and hit the ball around with some students.

“My mom just brought me up this way to treat everyone with respect no matter who the person is,” he said.

[sources:cnn&cbc]