It seems only yesterday the eternally fresh-faced Alex de Minaur was one of the much-touted NextGen hotshots, but now it's a new breed of teen tennis guns who are on his trail.
"He's a tall American, dangerous and with powerful groundstrokes," is de Minaur's verdict on his latest young hitman at the French Open, 19-year-old Alex Michelsen, who's already shot down the Australian No.1 once this season on a Mexican hard court.
De Minaur is counting on the stocky, 1.93m Californian being a bit greener on the red clay but can't rely on it, with Michelsen, who's up to No.60 and will surely soon join his seven compatriots in the top 50, having downed fellow American world No.12 Taylor Fritz in Geneva last week.
"It should be a tough battle, and hopefully I can get my revenge," added de Minaur.
Australian tennis is counting on it, a mite desperate for its main man to prevail after a wretched start to the tournament with five players already out, one withdrawn though injury and not a winner on the board.
De Minaur has got used to the responsibility of being the spearhead, and isn't talking down his expectations any more. At a mature 25 and having tasted life in the top 10 this year, he feels a quarter-final place, at least, in every slam should be achievable for him now.
On clay, the world No.11 is adamant he's become a different player this year. "I'm yet to go past the second round here in Paris, so that definitely has to be the first step, but I don't see why I can't play well," he told AAP.
"Adapting to clay has been a learning process. A lot of my improvement has probably had to do with me growing into my body a little bit more, getting a little bit stronger.
"My groundstrokes aren't probably as effective on the clay as they would be on other surfaces, so I've got to make sure that I'm nice and strong and physical with it.
"Getting that strength and power to help me out on the clay has been very important and, also understanding the type of tennis that I want to play on the surface and using a little bit more creativity, movement, speed to create more variety.
"It's all clicked together and I've gained a lot of confidence on the surface. And, mentally too, I've told myself that there's no reason why I can't play well on this surface."
Should calamity befall de Minaur, there's at least one bit of good news on the horizon with one Aussie guaranteed for the second round from the Alexei Popyrin-Thanasi Kokkinakis clash.
The shame, as their colleague Max Purcell noted, is that they're both playing well enough to have both gone on a good run. "I'll be watching though," smiled Purcell. "It's a popcorn match, definitely."
"He's one of my better mates on tour," says Kokkinakis, revealing that he and Popyrin had decided radio silence between each other might be the best bet before their clash.
"We practise a lot together. It is tricky - but it should be a fun one."
AUSTRALIANS IN ACTION ON DAY THREE OF THE FRENCH OPEN (PREFIX DENOTES SEEDING):
Men's singles
Alexei Popyrin v Thanasi Kokkinakis
11-Alex de Minaur v Alex Michelsen (USA)
Adam Walton v Arthur Rinderknech (FRA)
Rinky Hijikata v Luciano Darderi (ITA)
