American veteran Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who upset top seed Agnieszka Radwanska at the Sydney International, says she's impressed by the game of 18-year-old compatriot Madison Keys, whom she will face in the quarterfinals. Keys has won two of their three meetings.

“She's a great up-and-coming player,” said Mattek-Sands, who is playing her third tournament since the U.S. Open after suffering an MCL tear in her knee. “[She] plays aggressive shots, big serve. She goes for her shots. She's not afraid. Even if she misses a few here and there, she keeps going for it. It seems like she doesn't get intimidated by the moment of rankings or things like that. She's had some great wins. Her serve is great. She places it well. I think she has a really bright future.”

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Mattek-Sands: Madison Keys has bright future

Mattek-Sands: Madison Keys has bright future

Mattek-Sands and Keys are friendly and spoke in the locker room after Keys' 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (3) win over Croatian Ajla Tomljanovic.

“I think there a few girls coming up that have got a really good friendship in the locker room, and they go in the court and compete, and when you're off, you're friends again,” Mattek-Sands said. "I think that's a great way to do it. You can't carry your wins and losses everywhere with you. I think a lot of the girls that are coming up right now have great attitudes on and off the court whether they win or lose. That's probably something I learned later in my career. I think I took some of my losses too seriously when I was younger. It's great to see what they all have really good attitudes.”