Irascible tennis star Nick Kyrgios has taken a shot at the support, or lack thereof, from his compatriots after his first-round loss at the Toronto Masters.

Kyrgios fell 7-6(7/2), 3-6, 6-3 to this year's Wimbledon boys champion, Denis Shapovalov, and was clearly longing for the sort of support the Canadian 17-year-old received from his compatriots in the stands.

When asked about the pressure tennis' latest junior major winner would face, Kyrgios had a thinly veiled chop at Australian tennis fans, many of whom have soured on the ill-tempered 21-year-old due to his regular outbursts.

"I think Canadians probably support their athletes a little better than the Australians do," Kyrgios told reporters on Tuesday.

"I think he's going to do great. He's got a great support team. Obviously he can play in big moments — he won Wimbledon, obviously that's not easy — he's going to be good.

"Realistically, he's 300 in the world, he's got a long way to go to get to the top 100 but I [have] no doubt he'll get there quickly. He's just got to keep playing his game, keep working hard."

One reporter asked Kyrgios to expand on his statement about the fans and he replied: "I think it speaks for itself."

And it was not just the fans who were supporting Shapovalov. Fellow Canadian player Philip Bester had some fun at Kyrgios' expense.

The Australian tweeted before the tournament that he was playing Pokemon Go more than he was playing tennis.

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After the loss to Shapovalov, Bester tweeted: "Denis Shapovalov - one of the rarest Pokemon out there #cantcatchthiscat", and world number 19 Kyrgios was having none of it.

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Shapovalov, meanwhile, lost his second-round match against another member of the new wave, 25-year-old Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.

But the 6-4, 6-3 loss featured some spectacular, perhaps even Kyrgios-esque, shot-making from the left-handed Shapovalov, including a stunning 'tweener followed by a brilliant passing shot.

Australian Bernard Tomic, meanwhile, is into the third round after beating local wildcard Steven Diez 6-3, 7-6(7/4).