As Ziga Sesko was preparing to keep his unbeaten run this year in Grand Slams alive in Paris this week, he received a prized opportunity to train with a star at Roland Garros.

The reigning Australian Open boys' champion reached the quarter-finals of the Roland Garros Junior Championships with a 6-3 6-2 triumph over South Africa's Connor Doig on a challenging day in Paris.

It continued a great week for the right-hander, who possesses a stylish all-court game that flourished despite the wild winds that swept Roland Garros.

A member of the ITF-operated Grand Slam Player Development Programme when he triumphed in Melbourne, he received an invitation to practice with Casper Ruud prior to his clash with Joao Fonseca on Sunday.

“Casper is, for sure, one of my biggest idols these days. I admire him a lot and I love watching him. I think he has a really good game,” the 17-year-old said. 

“I was lucky enough to hit with him this week. I worked him up but unfortunately he lost that day to Joao Fonseca - I hope it wasn’t because of me. 

“Casper is really intense on court. That's what I admire the most about him, how he works hard from the first minute to the last minute. He doesn't like to lose focus or lose motivation in practice.”

The Roland Garros Junior Championships have a rich tradition of identifying stars of the future, in part because of the depth of competition, but also because of what it teaches talented juniors.

The lesson Sesko received from hitting with the three-time Grand Slam finalist was the importance of intensity and he said the session demonstrated the power of the world’s best players.

“I would say from the first ball to the last ball it is the same intensity. It's really hard to practice with him. His ball is very heavy. It is very tough, especially on clay,” Sesko said.

“So to have that chance to practice with a Top 10 player is a dream for a junior, an invaluable experience, 100 per cent.”

Sesko, who became the first Slovenian boy to win a Junior Grand Slam singles title with a success in Melbourne that he is still buzzing about, has learnt from his triumphant run in Australia.

After preparing for Roland Garros by contesting several ITF senior events recently, he is yet to drop a set in Paris and believes he is handling the occasion and expectations well.

“I've got a lot of experience, I would say, and some extra motivation to work even harder in practice, which then helps you to improve, for sure, and I feel maybe in the early stages I have managed things a lot better this time than in Australia,” he said. 

“In Australia, maybe I was not the favorite to win the tournament, so round by round I was fighting for the match. But here I feel really confident. I showed some good tennis in the early rounds.

“But there is other stuff from Australia as well. I have great memories. I had my brother and my mother there, along with the ITF team, and there was an Australian coach Will Hann … and we had a great time with him as well. He is an amazing coach. I enjoyed it a lot.”

Sesko, who loves playing on faster surfaces and lists grass as his favourite, will play his quarter-final against the 13th seeded American Michael Antonius, who defeated No.2 seed Yannick Theodor Alexandrescou 6-2 6-4 later on Wednesday afternoon.

“We played a match last year in Belgium and I won 7-5 in the third set. He is a young, very talented player and I'm looking forward to the next match,” Sesko said.

In the other quarter-finals, No.1 seed Luis Guto Miguel will play the seventh seed Thilo Behrmann, while fourth seed Jack Kennedy faces the unseeded Leonardo Storck Franca.

The winner of the clash between Sesko and Antonius will play either Australian Open boys' finalist Keaton Hance or the 3rd seeded Jamie Mackenzie.

A full list of results from the 2026 Roland Garros Junior Championships is available here