There is a major change now happening within men’s tennis that fans must accept

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The ATP Tour calendar currently has a heavy focus on clay, with the various events building up towards the French Open.

Casper Ruud is being tipped to win the French Open this year, but he is first eyeing success at the Madrid Open this week.

Carlos Alcaraz is capable of shining on clay in the absence of Rafael Nadal, although worryingly he was forced to withdraw from Madrid due to injury.

Nadal once dominated the clay courts, having won a record 14 French Open titles, with Alcaraz now aiming to take over from his idol.

Novak Djokovic meanwhile is still chasing an elusive 25th Grand Slam title on the ATP Tour, but his current form means that is unlikely to arrive at Roland Garros.

Novak Djokovic struggles lead changing of the guard in men’s tennis

Djokovic suffered another early exit in his latest tournament in Madrid, with his struggles certainly suggesting that the changing of the guard is very much underway.

His fellow legends Nadal and Roger Federer have already retired, while the likes of young stars Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have been enjoying huge success in recent seasons.

READ MORE: Many tennis fans are all saying the same thing about Novak Djokovic after his early Madrid Open exit

Moreover, a handful of regular top 10 players are now losing their places in the leaderboard to their younger counterparts.

Daniil Medvedev sits 10th in the current ATP Live Rankings, with Ruud in 14th, Andrey Rublev in 17th and Stefanos Tsitsipas in 18th.

Joao Fonseca and Jakub Mensik helping next generation come to the fore

Taking their places high in the rankings are the likes of 23-year-old Jack Draper, who is in sixth place, and 21-year-old Holger Rune in eighth.

Fellow youngsters Lorenzo Musetti, Ben Shelton and Arthur Fils meanwhile sit ninth, 12th and 13th respectively.

READ MORE: Alex de Minaur does something at the Monte Carlo Masters that not even Rafael Nadal ever did in his clay career

It is a change in men’s tennis that has seemingly been coming for a while, but the constant battling of veteran names such as Djokovic and Medvedev helped delay the process.

But it seems that fans must now accept that the past is the past and the new generation have officially arrived, without even mentioning future superstars Joao Fonseca, Jakub Mensik, Learner Tien and Alex Michelsen among others.