French Open: Williams tops Stephens; Sharapova out; Djokovic-Nadal on tap

For the third match in a row at the French Open, Serena Williams was oddly out of sorts at the outset 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, two-hour showdown between the last two American women in the draw, the No. 1-ranked and No. 1-seeded Williams was a game away from defeat Monday, then came back to beat Sloane Stephens 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.

“It’s not how you start, I guess. It’s how you finish,” Williams said. “That’s kind of how I’m looking at it.”

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 she is 10-0 in three-setters this season.

Williams is 29-1 overall in 2015 and owns an 18-match Grand Slam winning streak, including championships at the U.S. Open and Australian Open that gave her 19 major singles trophies.

Sharapova falls

Defending champion Maria Sharapova lost to 13th-seeded Lucie Safarova 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the fourth round.

It is the second-seeded Sharapova’s earliest defeat at Roland Garros since 2010, when she was beaten in the third round. Since then, the Russian won the clay-court Grand Slam tournament in 2012 and 2014, was the runner-up once and reached the semifinals once.

Coughing between points on an overcast day, Sharapova allowed Safarova to dictate much of the action. Safarova wound up with a considerable edge in winners, 34-20, including forehands on the last two points.

“My opponent had a different gear than I did,” Sharapova said.

Big 4 continue to roll

The Big 4 of the men’s game – Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray – all won. The top-seeded Djokovic and nine-time French Open champion Nadal will play in the quarterfinals Wednesday, a rematch of last year’s final.

Nadal eliminated the last U.S. man, Jack Sock, 6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, while Djokovic had no trouble in a 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 win over Richard Gasquet.

Federer needed about an hour to finish his 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Gael Monfils in a match suspended because of darkness after the second set Sunday. Federer next faces Swiss Davis Cup teammate Stan Wawrinka, and Murray will play 2013 French Open runner-up David Ferrer.