Sport
Serena Williams edges out Sloane Stephens to reach French Open Quarters
Serena Williams has been living on the edge at the French Open and once again on Monday she survived, huffing and puffing into the quarter-finals with a 1-6 7-5 6-3 win over fellow American Sloane Stephens.
Stephens broke serve three times in the opening set against the 2002 and 2013 champion, who for the third match in a row at Roland Garros lost the opening set.
“It’s not how you start, I guess it’s how you finish. That’s kind of how I’m looking at it,” Williams told a news conference.
“I feel like I’m living on the edge. But I’ve got to get off the edge. I don’t like to take chances, but at the same time this is also helping me in terms of knowing that I can play a two-hour match, I can do that.”
The 19-times grand slam winner, broke serve twice in the second set to level. Stephens then faded away as Williams broke for a 3-2 lead in the decider before finishing the match on Stephens’ serve with a dipping crosscourt backhand winner.
She next faces 17th seed Sara Errani of Italy for a place in the semi-finals.
Williams, who hit 43 unforced errors, has had to work hard to make progress this year and labeled her performance unprofessional after defeating Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam in the second round.
She also dropped the first set in the third round against former world number one Victoria Azarenka.
But each time she found a way back into the match and prevailed.
“I don’t just have one option. I have 5, 6, 7 different options,” Williams, whose preparations have been hampered by an injury, said.
