Fears the US Open might lack some fizz without injured superstars Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have been unfounded.
Instead, the tournament has provided a window into what the tour will look like when they hang up their racquets.
A teenage trio has flourished at Flushing Meadows.
Leylah Fernandez, Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz are all through to the quarter-finals.
The left-handed Fernandez stunned the defending champion, Naomi Osaka, in the third round. Then, the day before her 19th birthday, she upset the three-time major winner, Angelique Kerber.
The world number 73 is not American, but Canada was close enough for the fans inside the packed Louis Armstrong stadium, who provided a deafening response to Fernandez's fourth-round win.
"Honestly, the crowd's been amazing. So thanks to them, I was able to win."
Eighteen-year-old Raducanu was the darling of this year's Wimbledon during her run to the fourth round. After making it through the US Open qualifying, Raducanu is yet to lose a set and she has thrashed Ash Barty's conqueror Shelby Rogers 6-2, 6-1. It was her first appearance at Arthur Ashe stadium.
No Nadal. No worries. Eighteen-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz upset the world number three, Stefanos Tsitsipas, in five sets in the third round, and went the distance again in his win over 32-year-old German Peter Gojowczyk. He is the youngest male quarter-finalist at the US Open since Brazilian Thomaz Koch in 1963.
Leylah Fernandez recalled watching Alcaraz at a junior tournament.
"It was like watching literally a right-handed Rafael Nadal," she said.
Praise does not get much higher, but Alcaraz isn't getting caught up in the hype from back in his home country.
Fernandez, whose father/coach is from Ecuador and mother is Filipino-Canadian, isn't concerned by the media spotlight.
"From a very young age I'm just a happy go lucky girl. I'm never taking things too seriously," Fernandez said.
"[My parents say] you've got to be mature but at the same time just be a kid, let loose, have fun, eat chocolate when you want to."
In her US Open debut, Raducanu has enjoyed nightly visits to Times Square for frozen yoghurt and she listens to jazz to wind down. She's so youthful that she regards English-Irish band One Direction as a heritage act.
"When I was younger for sure [I was a fan] … not so much in the recent years," Raducanu said.
Raducanu and Alcaraz are both surprised to find themselves in the last eight at the US Open but not so Fernandez.
"I've been working hard every day since the day I set myself to being a professional so I expected one day my tennis game was going to come through and I'm going to be on the big stage in front of a big crowd, playing against big players and also getting the wins, so I'm not surprised of anything that's happening right now," Fernandez said.
Fernandez, the 2019 French Open juniors champion, has captivated New York crowds with her beaming smile.
It's a similar story for the youngest British player to reach the quarter-finals of a major since Sue Barker in 1975.
"I'm feeling really, really happy and I think that's showing in my game on court," Raducanu said.
Another common factor among the teenagers is their willingness to take calculated risks in pressure situations.
Coached by former Spanish world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz hit 61 winners in his triumph over Tsitsipas and has impressed his next opponent, the 12th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
"Carlos is a great player, great person also. He deserves to be in [the quarter-finals]. He's going to be at the top of the game, I think, for many years in the future", Auger-Aliassime said.
Brad Gilbert coached Andre Agassi to six major titles and said Alcaraz had similar fighting qualities.
If Raducanu's Cinderella story is to continue, she'll need to overcome Tokyo gold medallist Belinda Bencic.
"She's in great form so I'm going to have to be aggressive … if I let her dictate then she'll just hit the corners and I'll be running from side to side," Raducanu said.
Fernandez faces the fifth seed, Elina Svitolina. Another upset is unlikely to shock the Canadian or other tennis experts.
"We're starting to see what this young lady is made of and it's very special," six-times US Open champion Chris Evert said.
Raducanu recently finished school and excelled in maths and economics. When Fernandez and Alcaraz reached the last eight, she didn't want to be left behind.
"It definitely plays a part in motivation. I wanted to join them as well," Raducanu said.
Tennis watchers have been spoilt by the feats of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Serena Williams in the past two decades. Fernandez believes there are more treats in store when these greats eventually say goodbye.
