Tennis - Keys joins American march into U.S. Open fourth round
Sep 2, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Madison Keys of the United States celebrates by hitting a ball into the stands after match point against Elena Vesnina of Russia (not pictured) on day six of the U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Roared on by a raucous crowd as the rain tapped on the closed roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium, Madison Keys claimed a 2-6 6-4 6-1 win over Russian Elena Vesnina in the early hours of Sunday to reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open.
In a match that ended at 1:46 a.m. local time (0646 BST), the 15th-seeded American recovered from a woeful start to down 17th seed Vesnina and set up a meeting with Elina Svitolina.
Sep 2, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Elina Svitolina of Ukraine hits a forehand against Shelby Rogers of the United States (not pictured) on day six of the U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Svitolina downed local favourite Shelby Rogers 6-4 7-5 but there will still be five Americans in the women's last 16, with Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, Jennifer Brady and CoCo Vandeweghe also through.
Brady battled to a 6-3 4-6 7-6(3) defeat of Monica Niculescu, while Vandeweghe beat 10th seed Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5 4-6 6-4.
Keys shrieked a long 'come on!' when Vesnina buried a shot into the net on the second match point.
Sep 2, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Shelby Rogers of the United States hits a backhand against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine (not pictured) on day six of the U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
"You guys were amazing, I definitely did not show up very well for the first set but you helped me get back into the match, thank you for helping me through that one," Keys told the crowd.
"I think I finally settled in after being a bit over-amped at the start. Who doesn't love a late show?"
Sept 2, 2017; New York, NY, USA;
CoCo Vandeweghe of the USA after beating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ian Ransom)
Sep 2, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Madison Keys of the United States hits a backhand against Elena Vesnina of Russia (not pictured) on day six of the U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY SportsTennis - US Open - New York, U.S. - September 2, 2017 - CoCo Vandeweghe of the United States in action against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland during their third round match. REUTERS/Shannon StapletonSep 2, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Elina Svitolina of Ukraine hits a forehand against Shelby Rogers of the United States (not pictured) on day six of the U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY SportsSep 2, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Madison Keys of the United States celebrates after match point against Elena Vesnina of Russia (not pictured) on day six of the U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY SportsTennis - US Open - New York, U.S. - September 2, 2017 - Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland reacts during her third round match against CoCo Vandeweghe of the U.S. REUTERS/Andrew KellySep 2, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Madison Keys of the United States (R) hugs against Elena Vesnina of Russia (L) after their match on day six of the U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY SportsSep 2, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Madison Keys of the United States hits a forehand against Elena Vesnina of Russia (not pictured) on day six of the U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
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