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Suitably inspired by the breakthrough triumph of Alexander Zverev at the Italian Open on Sunday, some of the other bright young things on the men’s circuit, headed by the game’s highest ranked 18-year-old Casper Ruud, American giant Reilly Opelka and Russian tyro Andrey Rublev, made sprightly starts to their qualifying campaigns at Roland-Garros on Monday.

"Definitely, he's been an inspiration to all us young guys," declared the gifted young Norwegian Ruud, who opened his account with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 win over Belgian Yannik Reuter. "He's top 10 already at just 20 and the win over Novak (Djokovic) now motivates all of us to do well."

Court 6 had certainly looked the best place to catch a tantalising glimpse of the future and was packed out in muggy conditions as Opelka and Ruud, who looks set to eclipse his dad Christian as Norway's best-ever player, both made significant progress towards capturing one of the 16 qualifying spots while another much-touted youngster, Denis Shapovalov, gave the No.1-seeded qualifier, Marius Copil, a serious test there before succumbing in three sets.

Opelka, who stands out spectacularly on the circuit with his 6ft 11in and 220lb frame, set the ball rolling, surprising and delighting even himself as he came from a set down to beat Spanish veteran Daniel Munoz de la Nava 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.

The 19-year-old was in serious danger of making a straight-sets exit as he went a mini-break down in the second set tiebreak but fought back to take it 7-4. In a high quality deciding set, though, he finally broke the left-hander’s delivery for the first time at 4-4 before then crashing down his 13th and 14th aces of the match - accompanied by his own relieved roars of approval - to seal victory.

“I thought I played well the whole match and I had no chances to break him at all. I honestly thought the guy was all over me and I got really lucky to sneak it out with just a few points in the breaker. I was surprised I got out of it,” the monster-serving Michigan teenager smiled afterwards.

Not that he was about to make any great predictions about getting through to his second straight Grand Slam main draw after successfully negotiating the qualifying event in Melbourne, especially with an old hand of the quality of Leonardo Mayer awaiting him next on Tuesday.

“I don’t know, clay’s my weakest surface so we’ll see," he said. "I prefer the conditions in Australia with the faster courts but I can definitely improve from today. I was surprised I got out that tie breaker but I always compete well.”

So does Shapovalov. The Israeli-born Canadian southpaw, who followed Opelka as Wimbledon boys’ champion last year, knows that the unfortunate incident in February when, in the deciding Davis Cup rubber against Great Britain, he launched a ball in frustration aimlessly towards the crowd and ended up hitting the chair umpire instead, is going to take a bit of living down for him.

Yet the 18-year-old has been doing a fine job in trying to do just that as he embarked on an impressive win streak while annexing his fourth ITF Futures title and then becoming the youngest Canadian to win a Challenger tournament in March. Beating a hardened customer like Copil, though, proved a step too far for him as the Romanian, ranked 97 places higher than the world No.190, whitewashed the youngster in the first set and, after the Canadian had fought back from 3-1 down in the next to level matters, finally repelled the challenge to prevail after one hour and 25 minutes.

Around the grounds, more of the ATP’s exciting band of young ‘Next Gen’ prospects also enjoyed a fruitful time with Rublev, a 19-year-old Muscovite whose father boxed for the Soviet Union, quickly KO'ing the challenge of Argentina’s Agustin Velotti 6-1 6-3 in exactly an hour to move closer to his second straight main draw appearance in a Grand Slam. In Melbourne, his adventure was ended in the second round by Andy Murray.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 18-year-old Greek No.1, earned another notable scalp, coming from a set down to beat Italian Thomas Fabbiano, ranked 99 places above him, 3-6 6-3 6-1. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Macedonian-born Stefan Kozlov, another of the rising US contingent, showed similar resistance in turning around his contest with home hopeful, 18-year-old Corentin Moutet, 2-6 7-5 6-4.

Sadly, for 18-year-old South Korean Duckhee Lee, whose progress as a deaf player has captured the imagination of the tennis world, his hopes of making his first main draw were comprehensively thwarted by Ricardo Ojeda Lara. The Spaniard won 6-2 6-3.

The Euroclay season ended with a resounding bang Sunday in Rome, where Alexander Zverev upended Novak Djokovic to win the Rome Masters 1000. The upset followed just hours after Elina Svitolina pulled off a similar feat, defeating Simona Halep in the WTA final at the same event.

Those surprising results were in keeping with many of the other events that occurred during the 15 clay-court events, including three ATP Masters 1000s and three WTA Premier-level events.

Here are some of the takeaways leading up to the French Open, which starts Sunday in Paris:

The future of the ATP has arrived



Alexander Zverev beat Rafael Nadal en route to this biggest tournament win of his career, at the Rome Masters. Sport Tennis
Rafael Nadal did yeoman work keeping the Big Four -- the old guard of tennis -- well-represented on the Euroclay circuit. But make no mistake, the young challengers are stirring. Zverev, who's 20, validated all the hype that has trailed him by becoming the youngest winner at a Masters 1000 since Djokovic won the 2007 Miami Open. Zverev enters the French Open fresh off his biggest win of his career, a straight-sets win against Djokovic. Zverev will be ranked No. 10, up six spots, when the event begins.

Dominic Thiem was a finalist and semifinalist, respectively, in the Madrid and Rome Masters. He lost the Madrid final to Nadal but beat him in the Rome quarters -- the only player to claim a W over Nadal on clay this year.

Borna Coric, Hyeon Chung and Karen Khachanov also made great strides. Nick Kyrgios played just one Euroclay event because of a hip injury that threatens his chances in Paris. But the message is clear: Seeds in Paris beware.

Rafael Nadal is the man to beat in Paris



Despite coming up short in Rome, Rafael Nadal still won three clay events leading up to the French Open. REUTERS/Sergio Perez/File Photo
As the tour moved to clay in Europe, all eyes were on Nadal. After a great start, could he complete his resurgence by re-establishing his dominance on clay? Yes. Not only was Nadal technically and tactically sound as ever, there was no sign of the self-doubt and hesitation that poisoned his game in the long slump that dated back to 2014.

Nadal is a tour-leading 36-6 with three titles. He had convincing wins over Djokovic, Thiem, Goffin, Kyrgios and even former nemesis Fabio Fognini during the Euroclay season. Thus Nadal will be the odds-on favorite to win in Paris.

Big question marks for the WTA



World No. 1 Angelique Kerber has not won a tournament this season. Julian Finney/Getty Images
Serena Williams is out on maternity leave. No. 1 Angelique Kerber hasn't won a tournament this season and her record is only 19-12. The much-anticipated return of Maria Sharapova from her suspension was not to be after the French Tennis Federation denied her a wild card in the main draw and qualifying.

Neither multi-time Grand Slam champs Victoria Azarenka or Petra Kvitova will be in the draw, either, though the former hopes to be playing a few weeks later at Wimbledon.

There will also be question marks regarding defending champ Garbine Muguruza, who retired from her semifinal match in Rome with a neck injury.

But the absences will open up an opportunity for another player. Perhaps Rome champ Svitolina or runner-up Halep, whom we've expected to make a breakthrough on clay for some time, will make a deep run. We can only wonder at this point.

Novak Djokovic's French Open chances: slim to none



Novak Djokovic will enter the French Open with a new mentor, Andre Agassi, by his side. Fabio Averna/Getty Images
In announcing after the Rome final that he will be working with Andre Agassi in the future, Djokovic implied that there will be more meeting and talking than coaching when the two get together in Paris. In fact, Agassi has already told Djokovic that whatever happens, the former American star won't be able to stay in Paris for the duration of the event.

Djokovic is in the midst of a major transition. He hasn't slumped far, but it's far enough to make him vulnerable. Of greater potential impact, his motivation seems crippled. He looked like the dominant Djokovic of yore when he crushed Thiem in the Rome semis but couldn't muster the resistance the following day to claw his way to a single break point in the final against Zverev. That kind of inconsistency won't fly in Paris.

More than a handful of #NextGenATP players advanced a step closer to the Roland Garros main draw on Monday during day one of qualifying in Paris.

Norwegian Casper Ruud, a semi-finalist in Rio earlier this year, made quick work of Belgian Yannik Reuter, advancing 6-3, 6-2 in 67 minutes. The 18-year-old Ruud is trying to make his Grand Slam debut.

American Reilly Opelka, seeking to qualify at Roland Garros for the first time, hit 14 aces to beat Spain's Daniel Munoz de la Nava 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4. Opelka made his Grand Slam debut earlier this year by qualifying at the Australian Open.

Opelka's countryman 19-year-old Stefan Kozlov also advanced, prevailing against France's Corentin Moutet 2-6, 7-5, 6-4. Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas came back from a set down to down sixth seed Thomas Fabbiano of Italy 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Russian Andrey Rublev won 81 per cent of his first-serve points to dismiss Argentina's Agustin Velotti 6-1, 6-3. Alexander Bublik battled past Egypt's Mohamed Safwat 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1 in just under two hours.