Top-seeded Williams comes back to edge Stephens in French Open's 4th round; Sharapova out

Serena Williams of the U.S. shouts as she plays compatriot Sloane Stephens of the U.S. during their fourth round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Monday, June 1, 2015 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) (The Associated Press)

Serena Williams of the U.S. reacts as she plays compatriot Sloane Stephens during their fourth round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Monday, June 1, 2015 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) (The Associated Press)

PARIS – Serena Williams came back to edge Sloane Stephens 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 and reach the French Open quarterfinals, managing to avoid joining Maria Sharapova on the way out of the tournament Monday.

In a riveting matchup between the last two American women in the draw, the No. 1-ranked and No. 1-seeded Williams overcame her own wildness — she made 43 unforced errors, more than twice as many as Stephens' 21.

For the third match in a row, Williams dropped the first set thanks to messy play before righting herself.

This season, she is 10-0 in three-set matches, 29-1 overall.

The 40th-ranked Stephens eliminated Williams' older sister Venus in the first round and was trying to become only the fourth woman to beat both siblings during the same Grand Slam tournament.