On the 50th anniversary of his second career Grand Slam, Rod Laver has a vision of major success for another Aussie.
Laver believes Ashleigh Barty can win Roland Garros.
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The eighth-seeded Barty banged 11 aces beating 20-year-old Sofia Kenin, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, to reach her first Roland Garros quarterfinal and become the only woman to reach back-to-back quarterfinals at the Australian Open and French Open this year.
The legendary Laver ran into Barty as the pair were waiting at Roland Garros transport and tweeted out this image of the meeting captioned: "You can go all the way, no question. I'll be cheering hard."
Bartywill face 2018 semifinalist Madison Keys for a trip to the final four.
Keys beat Barty in straight sets at the 2017 French Open, but Barty avenged that defeat with a 6-4, 6-1, sweep in Fed Cup play on hard court earlier this year. Barty said it's a privilege to play in front of the iconic Rocket.
"He's an incredible person," Barty said. "It was pure luck that our cars arrived at the same time. I think it was a couple of days ago yesterday. But he's an amazing champion. It's really nice to be able to play in front of him. And, yeah, a very, very special guy."
Laver points to two factors in Barty's break-out season: strengthened confidence and a stinging serve.
"Well, Ash Barty, it's amazing what she has accomplished here," Laver told the media at Roland Garros. "A couple of years back, she was a good doubles player and played some, you know, attractive singles. But something happened. She says, I know how to win matches now, and I think that's what Barty has accomplished this year."
In the Miami Open final in March, Barty slashed a career-best 15 aces—nine more than WTA ace leader Karolina Pliskova—to capture her biggest career title.
The 5'5" Barty serves much bigger than her size suggests: she is third on the WTA Tour in service points won this season and her 28 wins on the season ties her with Petra Kvitova and Belinda Bencic for second most on tour this season.
"I know she won a tournament not too far back where I think it was one of the top players," Laver said. "When I read that she finished off the match with three aces, and, you know, she's 5-foot-nothing. I said, 'Well, that has to be a misprint. How did she do that?'
"So, you know, her improvement and I think it's more confidence than anything else. Most players with inferior games, but with confidence, you can make anything happen."
Photo credit: @RodLaver