Czech fourth seed Petra Kvitova was knocked out of the Australian Open in straight sets by American teenager Madison Keys on Saturday.
The Wimbledon champion lost 6-4 7-5 to the 19-year-old, coached by former Grand Slam champion Lindsay Davenport.
“Yeah, for sure. She is a young girl. She can be top 10 for sure,” said Kvitova, who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014. “I felt that she improved her movement, as well.
“I think that she gets more balls than when I played her in the Tokyo. So I think she improve like globally. Yeah, I think she can be one of the top ones, for sure.”
Keys, ranked 35th in the world, faces compatriot and round of 16 first-timer Madison Brengle, after the latter’s 6-3 6-2 win over Coco Vandeweghe.
“I was pretty nervous (against Kvitova), but then at the same time I was also weirdly calm right before I served,” Keys said.
“Obviously this is my first time in the second week of a Grand Slam. I feel good about it. I feel like I’ve made a lot of improvements. You know, all that. But at the same time it’s one of those things where I want more. I want to keep doing better.
“So I’m not really getting ahead of myself and letting myself get too excited over this. I’m just treating it like another win. You know, I’ll have a practice again tomorrow to get ready for the next round.”
Kvitova has never made it past the last of the Australian Open. She was beaten in her first match by Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum, who was playing in just her second Grand Slam tournament, last year.
