Serena battles injury to set up Sharapova clash

Serena Williams winced through a sprained ankle and a first-set wobble to beat Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik 4-6 6-4 6-3 and reach the Family Circle Cup quarter-finals on Thursday in South Carolina.

The fifth-seeded American won the last eight points to set up a clash with Russian number two seed Maria Sharapova, who defeated Ukrainian Tatiana Perebiynis 7-5 6-2.

"I'll tell you how I feel (on Friday), seeing that I fell and I'll see how I feel," Williams told reporters.

"When you're playing at this level and with the adrenaline running high, you can't really assess yourself."

Williams blasted 11 aces and converted four of nine break-point opportunities in the two-hour, 13-minute match against 12th-seeded Srebotnik.

Top seed and holder Jelena Jankovic of Serbia made quick work of Russian Anastasia Rodionova, winning their third-round match 6-0 6-2 in 52 minutes.