[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="Halep survives a scare" ids="82125,82086,82087"] NEW YORK — Fifth seed Simona Halep narrowly avoided a third-round upset with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 win over Hungary's Timea Babos Saturday to keep her US Open title hopes alive. Halep came into the match having dropped nine games in her opening two matches and looked ready to make speedy work of Babos but she needed two hours and eight minutes on an overcast Arthur Ashe Stadium court to secure her place in the last 16. After blitzing the opening set in 24 minutes, Halep meekly surrendered the second to the 34th-ranked Babos, who had been knocked out in the opening round in four previous visits to Flushing Meadows. Babos continued to apply the pressure in the third, breaking Halep at the first opportunity, but the fiery Romanian battled back, angrily smashing her racket on to the court before holding serve for a 5-4 lead. Halep was gifted her place in the fourth round when Babos double-faulted to hand her the break and match. "I don't know how I came back," Halep told reporters. Next up for Halep is 11th-seeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro who advanced with a tidy 6-4, 6-3 win over Russian Elena Vesnina. Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska also reached the last 16 for the fifth time with a 6-2, 6-3 win over France's Caroline Garcia. On Friday, Novak Djokovic reached the US Open last 16 in just 32 minutes when Mikhail Youzhny retired injured before fellow two-time winner Rafael Nadal also made the fourth round for the first time in three years. Defending men's champion Djokovic was 4-2 ahead in the first set when Russian 34-year-old Youzhny called it quits suffering from a left hamstring injury. The outcome completed a bizarre first week for world No. 1 Djokovic. After laboring over four sets to beat Jerzy Janowicz Monday, he was handed a walkover into the third round when Czech opponent Jiri Vesely withdrew from their second round clash with an arm injury. "I have never had this happen before in my Grand Slam career, getting a walkover and the next match lasting just half an hour," said Djokovic. The top seed next faces Britain's world No. 84 Kyle Edmund who stunned John Isner of the United States 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) to make a Slam fourth round for the first time. Nadal reached the fourth round for the first time since 2013 — the year of his last New York title — with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov. "Andrey is always a tough opponent, he returns well and has good shots from the baseline," said fourth seed Nadal who faces France's Lucas Pouille for a quarterfinal slot. Djokovic's very brief encounter had been preceded on Arthur Ashe Stadium by women's eighth seed Madison Keys pulling off an epic comeback to beat Japan's Naomi Osaka. Keys won the latest-ever finishing women's match at the tournament Monday when she completed victory over compatriot Alison Riske at 1:48 a.m. On Friday, the 21-year-old was involved in more drama when she rallied from 1-5 down in the final set to defeat Osaka 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3). The 18-year-old Osaka was so traumatized by her failure to convert her dominance into victory that she broke down in tears as she twice tried and failed to serve for the victory. "This is the greatest comeback of my career, hands down," said Keys who will face two-time runner-up Caroline Wozniacki for a quarter-final spot. In stark contrast, German second seed and Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber closed out the night session with a 6-1, 6-1 win in just 53 minutes against American 17-year-old CiCi Bellis. Kerber, who claimed her season-leading 50th match win, next faces two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova who beat Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-4 . Jack Sock, the American 26th seed, reached the fourth round for the first time by knocking out 2014 champion Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in tie where he did not face a single break point. The 23-year-old Sock, whose last two appearances at the US Open had ended in retirements, goes on to face French ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tsonga, a two-time quarterfinalist, made the last 16 with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) victory over South Africa's Kevin Anderson. Wozniacki, who knocked out ninth-seeded former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round, clinched a seventh win in seven meetings over unorthodox Monica Niculescu of Romania 6-3, 6-1. Roberta Vinci, the Italian seventh seed and runner-up to compatriot Flavia Pennetta in 2015, overcame a second set blip to defeat 21-year-old Carina Witthoeft 6-0, 5-7, 6-3. Vinci will meet Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine for a quarterfinal place. Tsurenko, the world No. 99, made the last 16 at a Slam for the first time by beating 12th seed Dominika Cibulkova 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The 27-year-old Tsurenko committed 44 unforced errors. Fortunately for her, newly-married Cibulkova hit 54. Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova backed up her shock victory over third seed and French Open champion Garbine Muguruza by making the last 16 for the first time with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine. World No. 48 Sevastova, who briefly retired in 2013, has matched her best run at a Slam and next faces British 13th seed Johanna Konta who put out Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6
