Fritz and Mensik have played once, in the third round at the 2023 US Open, and the American won in a rout, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0.

Fritz is probably the favorite again, considering that he’s ranked fourth and Mensik is 54th. But this should be a different match, because the Czech is a different player now.

Their last meeting took place on his 18th birthday, when he was in the earliest stages of his pro career. While he’s still a teenager, Mensik has grown as a player in every way. His serve is among the game’s best now, he has a brutal serve-forehand combination, and his confidence that he can compete with anyone at the pro level has grown. While he has watched guys like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have meteorite rises in their teens, Mensik seems happy to take his career a step at a time.

“Everything is happening for a reason, and it’s all the time the right time,” he says of his progress, sounding like a young Zen master. “Never is too late; never is too early.”