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Ash Barty is blocking out all the growing hoopla surrounding her charge towards a Wimbledon title, saying that she's just enjoying every minute of her quest.
Ash Barty reckons she is blocking out all the "noise" and hype surrounding her Wimbledon title bid but is buoyed by all the support back home in Australia as she continues on her "dream" path.
The 25-year-old appears in a really good place, both mentally and physically, as she prepares for her maiden semi-final at the All England Club against former champion Angelique Kerber on Thursday.
Instead of feeling a little suffocated by the growing expectations of being the top seed and world No.1 at the most famous tournament in the sport, Barty genuinely sounds content to be embracing the growing expectations and excitement around her bid.
Asked if it was somehow easier for her to be away from the sort of fevered hopes she faced at her home Open in Melbourne, she responded: "I don't find it challenging anywhere in the world. I think I'm extremely lucky to get a lot of support all around the world.
"As Australian tennis players, we're in one of the few countries that are a grand slam nation. Without a doubt it adds to the excitement, it adds to the calendar that we do have a tournament in our own backyard.
"For me, it's not a fact of liking it, disliking it, being overwhelmed. It makes it fun. It's enjoyable."
She appreciates how her Wimbledon run, which seems be growing in authority with each round after losing just one set in her opening contest with Carla Suarez Navarro, is being followed back home, particularly by her family and friends.
"I know that they're watching. That to me is all that matters. I know the people that I love and the people that love me back are watching. They're living through this journey with me.
"I love the fact that Australians at home, the fans, are able to get behind all of us that are here.
"But I don't read the papers. I don't see that white noise as such. I don't read it. It doesn't faze me. It's not something that I focus on. It's almost irrelevant to me.
"This is my dream. I'm in an extremely fortunate position that I'm getting to do what I love, getting to do what I dreamt as a kid. So I think I've just got a whole lot of gratitude for the fact that I get to come out here and do what I love.
"The world, the way we're living at the moment, I think it's incredible that we're able to play, compete, have people enjoy it with us. So I'm certainly enjoying every single minute that I get out on those courts."