Novak Djokovic was impressed by Denis Shapovalov’s game, and says the Canadian has many tools that should help to make him a better player in the future. Still only 19, the Canadian played on Rod Laver Arena for the first time on Saturday, in his first ever match against a World No.1. Considering just how tall a task facing a legend like Djokovic on one of the biggest stages in tennis, the Canadian did pretty well in taking a set from Djokovic.

Here is how Djokovic assessed Shapovalov’s game after the match.

“Well, he's got pretty complete game. He's got the big serve, a lot of rotation on the ball. He can hit it flat. He can hit it with a spin. I like his mentality. I like his confidence in himself, his approach. He's very positive on the court, always backing himself up. I like that.

“Obviously he's lacking some experience playing on the big stage in the big matches, but that's going to come. I like the way he plays. He seems like a guy who dedicates a lot of time to training and to the process of understanding of how he can improve. These kind of experiences can only help him.”

Shapovalov reached the third round at the Australian Open for the first time this season. The southpaw should be able to take quite a lot of positives from his performance, as well as plenty of things he needs to work on after falling to Djokovic. He committed 57 unforced errors and only won 32 percent of his second-serve points—a few areas that surely need work

"To play a champion like him in a court like that in an event like this, it's a dream come true for me," Shapovalov said. "During the match, I was smiling, enjoying my time out there. It was a lot of fun. At the same time I do want to compete against these guys in the future, in the near future.

"It's about physically getting ready for these types of matches. I think just getting used to it. The first couple times you play these guys, obviously you're going to be a lot more tight. After a while, a third, fourth time you start playing them, you know what it's like already, and I'll have some expectations, yeah, going into the match knowing what it's like on a court like this. I think I'm not going to be as nervous. I'm really happy that I can take this match and really learn from it."