Thiem and Zverev land in the pages of Vogue

The image accompanying the piece looks like the cover of a Sweet Valley High young-adult novel. Small matter. Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev star in a story for Vogue magazine's September issue–that annually ballyhooed thick tome of fashion and culture.

Therein, writer Louisa Thomas follows the pair, separately, at this year's Wimbledon and the results are fabulous. Bear witness to this section about "Sascha" Zverev:

"There is something almost princely about him—his six-foot-six height, the mop of burnished blond waves, the leonine eyes that seem to change color with the light, the long and loose limbs." Elsewhere: "His legs now show the hint of quadriceps."

The workhorse Thiem, Zverev's senior by nearly three-and-a-half years, certainly gets his due in Vogue.

"[H]is work ethic is the stuff of legend, so much so that he’s grown weary of disputing the mythical stories: fording rivers on training runs; carrying a tree trunk on his back."

Now that is some quirky stuff.

Both have notched some remarkable victories against the so-called Big Four in tennis–namely, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. And though ranked No. 7 and No. 8 now, both were bundled out of Wimbledon just before the round of eight.

Thiem and Zverev are aware of their luster, and of the conversations swirling around them and when they will break through. (Tennis-speak for "win a major," of course.) After all, they've each inserted themselves squarely into the conversation.

"Every good tennis player has to have a short memory,” Zverev tells Thomas. “Good or bad."

The good thing about being 20 is that memories, so far, are as light and spindly as the young man himself. It's the future that bears weight.

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonscott9.