Serena rolls ankle and US Open rival as Barty, Pliskova fall

Serena Williams overcame an injury scare to maintain her pursuit of a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title at the US Open on Sunday while Roland Garros champion Ashleigh Barty and Karolina Pliskova crashed out in the last 16.

Williams, a six-time US Open winner, romped to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Croatian 22nd seed Petra Martic to set up a quarter-final with China's Wang Qiang, the conqueror of world number two Barty.

The 37-year-old American star required a medical timeout in the second set after rolling her right ankle as she approached the net but promptly recovered to reach the last eight in New York for the 16th time.

"I feel fine right now physically," said Williams, who received further strapping to an already heavily taped ankle.

"But I'll see tomorrow. So far I'm good. I have been managing it. We'll see tomorrow.

Eighth-seeded Williams, who has also suffered knee and back injuries this season, felt a mental setback when it happened but battled through to win.

"I've had a rough year with injuries," she said. "It was like, 'Oh my God. Not again. I'm finally walking.'"
"Now we'll sit back, reflect, and look forward to a big couple months to finish off the year."
- McNamara spirit with Wang -
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