Serena Williams battles past Sloane Stephens at Indian Wells

World number one Serena Williams has earned her place in the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells with a 7-6(3) 2-6 6-2 comeback victory over fellow American Sloane Stephens.

Stephens had the perfect start to the match as they raced into a 3-0 lead with an early break, but Williams came roaring back as she took the next three matches to level the set.

The duo cancelled each other out to force a tie-breaker, where Stephens managed to up the ante with a range of quality ground strokes to take it 7-3 and the first set 7-6.

The world number rallied in the second set as she dominated proceedings after finding her rhythm on her serve and forehand to overpower the 21-year-old with a 6-2 victory to level the match.

Williams earned an early break in the deciding set to take a 2-0 lead, and although Stephens put up some resistance she was powerless to stop the 33-year-old taking the set 6-2 to secure the victory.

Williams will now face either Elina Svitolina or Timea Bacsinszky in the last eight of the competition.