Denis Shapovalov has described his performance during this week's Rogers Cup as a 'dream come true'.

The Canadian was the surprise package of the tournament as he made it through to the semi-finals before eventually losing in straight sets to fourth seed Alexander Zverev.

The 18-year-old defied the odds throughout his run to the last four, as he saved four match points during his first-round victory over Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva, before he saw off 15-time major winner Rafael Nadal in round three.

Shapovalov confirmed that his victory over Nadal was a particular highlight, but he believes his overall performance showed his game is improving all the time.

"Obviously I didn't expect it," he said. "Saved four match points the first round. Yeah, just played loose after that, just went with it. I mean, I beat one of my idols. So it's a dream come true for me this week. I just think I'm improving every week."

Shapovalov knows his performance in Montreal will have made a lot of people sit up and take notice, but he insists he will just continue to work hard.

"It's going to be a little bit of a change to me," he added. "I'm going to have to adapt. But that doesn't change things. Still have to work really hard. Yeah, just keep working hard every day."