US Open 2017, Day 4 highlights: From Madison Keys' New York connection to Naomi Osaka's candid pressers

Five-time champion Roger Federer survived a second consecutive five-set encounter, beating Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-7(3), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to reach round three, while Rafael Nadal came from behind to dispatch underdog Taro Daniel of Japan 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. In the women’s side, top seed Karolina Pliskova battled to claim a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 second-round victory over American Nicole Gibbs but eight seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was ousted by unseeded Kurumi Nara of Japan. Take a look at some of the storylines that have making headlines off court at the US Open. Mermaid Keys on Madison Avenue American player Madison Keys hails from the Midwest but has a close connection with New York thanks to her Christian name given to her by her mother, a huge fan of the movie “Splash,” where a mermaid assumes the name of Madison. [caption id=“attachment_3998377” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Madison Keys in action at the US Open. AP[/caption] “I was named after the mermaid and I always thought it was really cool there was a street in a big city that had the same name as me. So from then on, I was always, ‘I want to go there and get a picture next to it.’ Luckily I haven’t done that because that’s really cheesy,” she said. Inside the head of Naomi Osaka Japan’s Naomi Osaka has been bringing welcome light relief to post-match news conferences. On Thursday, after reaching the third round, she was asked what she thinks about while preparing for a match. “Once I was practicing, right, and my whole practice – you know, there is that commercial that says, ‘If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma,’ that’s all I could think about for the whole practice. I was, like, why do I keep thinking this? Then, like, during the breaks, all I could see was like that commercial where this woman was running in a field. I mean, it was a good practice. It’s just my mind wasn’t there. Like, I think it was just muscle memory and stuff. That was a weird day.” Svitolina happy to be very early riser Fourth seed Elina Svitolina reached the third round of the US Open for a third successive year by winning the opening match on Ashe despite the early start. “It’s a big challenge to wake up at 6 or even 5 but I’m really thankful for the opportunity to play on Ashe. Not everybody gets this opportunity,” said the Ukrainian after seeing off Evgeniya Rodina in straight sets. Who’s saying what “It’s going to be sore.” -- Shelby Rogers who beat Daria Gavrilova in the longest women’s singles match ever played at the tournament – 3hr 33min – reflecting on how her body will feel in the morning. “It feels like I played three and a half hours for nothing.” -- Gavrilova “Even if I say I will die from the cramps, they will just look at me and say ‘OK, bye-bye.’” -- Youzhny, unable to get treatment for cramping in his five-set loss to Federer. Stat of the Day 10 — Sets played by Federer after his 6-1, 6-7 (3), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Youzhny, the first time he has played two straight five-setters to open a Grand Slam tournament. With inputs from agencies