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On-edge Serena beats Stephens to reach last eight

By Julien Pretot PARIS (Reuters) - 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 five, six, seven different options," Williams, whose preparations have been hampered by an injury, said. "I'm definitely gaining confidence." Also helping her confidence is the fact that she has beaten Errani in their eight encounters, three having been played on clay, although the Italian came close to beating her in the Fed Cup last month. Williams knows that this time around she had better not be caught snoozing. "I was two points from losing to her," Williams recalled. "I'm going to have to be ready because she gave me the match of my life last time." (Editing by Tony Jimenez and Justin Palmer)