Forget defending champion Simona Halep. Grand slam greats have declared Ashleigh Barty the most feared player left in the French Open draw.
"She's definitely the player that nobody wants to play because she has the variety - she can play spin, slice, hard, drop shot, coming into the net or staying back," three-time Roland Garros champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario said after Barty gatecrashed the quarter-finals for the first time.
Hoping to become Australia's first singles winner in Paris since Margaret Court in 1973, Barty takes on American powerhouse Madison Keys on Wednesday for a first-time grand slam semi-final berth.
Barty could run into Halep in the last four, a scenario that Sanchez Vicario believes the 23-year-old should relish.
"She's a big contender. I like her spirit. She's a big fighter, she never gives up," said the Spanish former world No.1.
"So I don't think the players like playing her.
"Maybe (clay) is not her favourite surface but she's learned to be patient, to prepare very well the points now.
"She's a player who's very dangerous, she's a big contender I'm telling you. She has no pressure because maybe she's not the favourite as some of the others."
Rod Laver also believes Barty "can go all the way", while former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, a finalist at Roland Garros in 2000, also believes the Queenslander "can keep going".
"Of course. Why not? What I like when she's not playing that good, she's relaxed," Martinez said.
"She's an all-round player, she can go to the net. Her slice hurts a lot of players that play very flat.
"She doesn't get mad. She has that smile and it's like 'OK, I can do this.'"
Barty is unfazed by all the hype.
"Obviously's there's a little bit more talk around and a little bit more attention," she said.
"But, for me, nothing changes. Very much we go through the exact same process after a match. Whether it's a win or a loss, it's the same recovery, same everything.
"That's probably what I've been doing best over the last 12 to 18 months and it's put me in better positions. I'm in these positions now because I'm doing that better.
"So it's pretty incredible to be in this position now, deep into another slam, and a hell of an opportunity."
