So this could finally be the end of an era. Or perhaps, the start of the next.

Novak Djokovic is still around, so is Andy Murray, and late-bloomer Stan Wawrinka remains a tough opponent as well. But the world is looking for the Generation Next to carry on this rich legacy of the Big Five.

Nick Kyrgios, of course, has excited the pundits and his peers, so has Alexander Zverev. But the one leading the race, at this moment, is Austrian Dominic Thiem.

The youngest man in the Top 15 at 22, he is also the winner of three titles in 2016 and the owner of most wins this season (39), behind Djokovic (40).

Of course, Thiem is not the finished article yet and his record at the Masters 1000 and grand slam tournaments is far from convincing.

In Paris this week, he has matched his best performance at majors (2014 US Open) by reaching the fourth round, and has a great chance of reaching the last eight for the first time when he faces Marcel Granollers in their delayed match after Monday’s play was washed out in Paris.

Kyrgios, with two quarter-finals at grand slams and a semi-final at the Miami Masters this year, has done better on the big stage, and Thiem knows he is “missing a really big result, big tournament” and hoping “it’s gonna happen soon”.

Unlike Kyrgios, though, Thiem loves tennis and wants to be like the Big Four.

“Everybody is a little scared of Rafa when he walks on the court,” Thiem told ESPN last week. “It’s like that with the top four guys. That’s my goal, too, to have players a little scared of me.”

And that attitude should see Thiem inch ahead of the rest in what should be an exciting race of the Generation Next, starting with the continuing French Open.