Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the planet's two best tennis players, will battle on Sunday afternoon for the men's singles crown at the French Open.
Alcaraz will attempt to add his name to the list of men who have successfully defended their title at the Roland Garros Stadium in Paris since tennis was opened up to professional players in 1968.
Jan Kodes, Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Jim Courier, Sergi Bruguera and Gustavo Kuerten pulled off the feat before Rafael Nadal established a hegemony begetting a statue at the stadium entrance and a plaque in the clay on centre court hailing his 14 triumphs at the tournament.
Sinner, who reached the semi-final last year, is looking for his first French Open crown to add to his trophies at the Australian Open in Melbourne and the US Open in New York.
"I feel like if I watch myself playing last year on clay and this year on clay, I have improved, which for me is the most important thing," said the 23-year-old Italian who returned from a three-month doping ban just before the Italian Open in Rome in May.
"So the process I am doing, it's the right one," he added. "Hopefully in one year I can say the same thing. That's my main goal, and then with results and everything, whatever comes, comes. But I believe that if you work hard, the end results are going to come."
Nineteen titles and a year as world number one vindicate his industry. There is also steeliness.
Compliments from Djokovic
During his first real test of the fortnight in the semi-final against three-time champion Novak Djokovic, Sinner saved three set points – two of them consecutive – to level at 5-5 in the third set. He went on to overpower the 38-year-old Serb in the tiebreak.
The resilience generated compliments from a player who, in his prime, excelled in salvage operations.
"I think mentally he deserved big credit for hanging in there in the tough moments when the whole stadium was cheering for me and he was set points down," said Djokovic after his straight sets defeat on Friday night.
"And he managed to find some really good shots. He showed why he's number one in the world. He was just too solid."
Sinner will need to ally that consistency to dare and enterprise to wrest the title from Alcaraz who beat Alexander Zverev in last year's final.
The 22-year-old Spaniard enters Sunday's showdown leading 7-4 in their head-to-head tussles. His most recent victory came at the Italian Open.
Thirst for combat
"I enjoy every time I play against Jannik because I love that battle," said Alcaraz.
"Most of the time it is just about suffering because he pushes you to the limit. But my favourite thing is it gives you the feedback of how can I be better player. I think that's important and that's beautiful even if I win or not, it gives you a lot of statistics."
Fifteen thousand fans are expected on centre court for more than just cold data.
They will engage in a showdown that promises the dazzle of the duels between Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray - the famed "Big Four".
"Oh, that takes time," insisted Sinner on the eve of his clash with Alcaraz. "It takes time to compare us with the Big Three or Big Four. I think only time can tell.
"I believe that tennis or every sport needs rivalries," he added. "This could be potentially one of these, but there are amazing players coming up. There can be so many different and other players who join or one of us drops."
Nadal and Djokovic met on 60 occasions over 18 years on the ATP circuit.
At the end of Sunday's final, the "New Two, as former French Open Jim Courier has dubbed Sinner and Alcaraz, will have played 12 times in four years.
The youngsters' voyage to emulate those legends appears on course.
