The talented Canadian Denis Shapovalov has had a slow start to his 2023 season. The left-hander is 6-6 going into his third-round match at the Miami Open presented by Itau and has not won back-to-back matches since the Australian Open.

But as the 23-year-old struggles against adversity, he keeps the big picture in mind.

“I think at the end of the day, first of all if things don’t go well, you can make it a lot worse. I’m lucky enough to be where I am and try to be the best,” Shapovalov told ATPTour.com. “But it’s just sport. This is just a game. Obviously I want to get better and sometimes I get frustrated on the pitch. But I think I did a good job not taking him because we were so lucky. I live a good life.

“I think in general being a person, it’s different. You are an athlete but at the end of the day you are a human being so I always try to treat people the way I want to be treated. I think that’s from my upbringing as well.”

According to Shapovalov, “life in general is amazing.” Despite losing five of his last seven matches, he has kept his perspective.

“I think a big part of it is clear Mirjam [Bjorklund], my lover. First of all we can spend more time together and do fun things,” said Shapovalov. “I feel like wherever we are, we’re always thinking of fun things to do, things to see, restaurants and things like that to go to. I just find life to be so much fun.

“I really enjoyed it, to be by his side. I think he’s a wonderful person and he makes me very happy. There isn’t much more you could ask for.”

In Miami, Shapovalov enjoyed supporting Bjorklund from the stands as he qualified for the prestigious tournament and advanced to the second round of the main draw. Away from the court, you wouldn’t know the Canadian wasn’t having the best start to the season.

“It has always been about manners, being honest about always treating people the way I want to be treated,” says Shapovalov. “It doesn’t matter if you are the best player in the world, the worst player in the world. That’s a separate thing in my opinion than being human.

Everything is not bad on the field either. The Canadian has achieved a lot in tennis.

Shapovalov has cracked the Top 10 on the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, claimed over $10 million in prize money and earned thousands if not millions of fans worldwide with his dynamic and aggressive play.

The 2019 Miami semifinalist knows that when her game starts to match up, she’ll be able to challenge the best players on the ATP Tour again.

“One hundred percent. I think that’s always been my game. I’ll have ups and downs and that’s how it is when you’re an aggressive player,” said Shapovalov. “I just need to stick to my core values, stick to my game , and knew that I was going to have some good runs and some bad runs.”

Shapovalov hopes Miami marks the start of a good run. Lefties play No. 1 American Taylor Fritz in the third round.