Dominic Thiem is under no illusions about the size of the task ahead of him as he chases his first grand slam title.
Having pulled off the greatest win of his career to knock out defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals, the young Austrian now finds himself facing nine-time champion Rafael Nadal.
No man has ever beaten Djokovic and Nadal back-to-back and won a grand slam, and even if Thiem were to get past the Spaniard, he would still have to defeat either former champion Stan Wawrinka or three-time grand slam winner Andy Murray in the final.
"It's a joke how tough it is to win a slam," said Thiem.
He is looking to join Marin Cilic and Juan Martin del Potro as the only players other than Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, Wawrinka and Roger Federer to win grand slam titles in the last 12 years.
Thiem can at least take confidence from knowing he won his last match against Nadal, in the quarter-finals of the Italian Open three weeks ago.
It was a sign of the 23-year-old's growing maturity on clay in particular.
He had lost to Nadal twice in the preceding weeks, heavily in Barcelona and then narrowly in Madrid.
"It's going to be the fourth match against him in five or six weeks," said Thiem. "There's not really big secrets. He's again in his best shape. So it's going to be the toughest match you can imagine."
The first challenge for Thiem will be avoiding the sort of letdown that happened after his win over Nadal in Rome.
In his quarter-final against Djokovic he managed just a single game, but is confident it will be a different story here.
He said: "I think it's better there is one day off. In Rome, I was not only tired from the match against Rafa, but also from before. I think it's going to be different. I feel much better now than in Rome."
Thiem must try to prosper where so many have tried and failed as he bids to conquer the Nadal forehand at Roland Garros.
The world number four has been hitting his signature shot with familiar power and accuracy this fortnight to cruise into the semi-finals.
"You cannot defend it all the time," said Thiem with a smile. "I just have to watch that I'm not giving him his favourite positions on the forehand.
"It's one of the best shots I think ever in tennis. I will concede some winners on Friday."
Thiem has attracted many admirers with his play during this clay season and has certainly lived up to his billing so far, not dropping a set on his way to the last four.
Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic is among them, saying: "Dominic Thiem is a guy who is going to win the French Open.
"If that's going to be this year or next year, in two years, I don't know. But definitely he will."
Most of the attention after his win over Djokovic was on the Serbian's dramatic collapse but Thiem deserved a lot of credit for balancing his explosive winners with patience and clever serving.
He will have to do all that and more against Nadal, who has dropped only 22 games in five matches on an apparently unstoppable march to a record 10th title.
"Thiem is a tough player," said Nadal. "I won in Barcelona, Madrid, and I lost to him in Rome. We can talk about statistics for hours, but what is important is to consider the match.
"If I play well, I hope that I will be able to book my spot in the final. If I don't play well, I will be out of the tournament.
"He hits the ball very hard. He's very powerful on both sides. Forehand, backhand, serve. He has a huge potential to tap.
"In Rome it was not a good day for me. I was not in a position to play the way I wanted to. He put me in a difficult situation, so it's up to me to avoid being put in uncomfortable situations.
"I am in the semi-finals and with very positive feelings. I played well all the matches here."
