Ashleigh Barty’s summer expectations continue to grow, the Queenslander upstaging world No.1 Simona Halep five days out from the Australian Open.

Focused from the get go, Barty surged into the Sydney International quarter-finals with a 6-4 6-4 triumph over the reigning French Open champion and 2018 Australian Open runner-up.

While top-seeded Halep will head to Melbourne with just one match under her belt this season, Barty will play either Belgian world No.12 Elise Mertens, 2016 Olympic champion Monica Puig or Estonian Anett Kontaveit on Thursday for a Sydney semi-final berth.