Paris: For the third match in a row at the French Open, Serena Williams was oddly out of sorts at the start and dropped the opening set. And for the third match in a row, almost as though this was the plan all along, Williams righted herself to pull out a victory.
In a riveting showdown between the last two American women in the draw, the No. 1-ranked and No. 1-seeded Williams came back to edge Sloane Stephens 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 and reach the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, managing to avoid joining Maria Sharapova on the way out of the tournament on Monday.
“Not simple for me today. I’m surprised to win,” Williams told the crowd in French. “Experience helped me.”
Close as it was, thanks in large part to Williams’ 43 unforced errors, more than twice as many as Stephens’ 21, the eventual outcome seemed certain once Williams pulled even by taking the second set.
That’s because Williams is 10-0 in three-setters this season. She is 29-1 overall in 2015 and owns an 18-match Grand Slam winning streak, including championships at the US Open last September and Australian Open in January, raising her total to 19 major singles trophies. Only two tennis players won more: Margaret Smith Court (24) and Steffi Graf (22).
