Serena struggles but survives in Paris

Paris - Serena Williams kept alive her hopes of winning a 22nd Grand Slam title by fighting back from a set and a break down to defeat unheralded Yulia Putintseva in the French Open quarter-finals on Thursday.

The top seed and defending champion defeated the world number 60 from Kazakhstan 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.

She will face Kiki Bertens in the semi-finals on Friday.

Bertens became the first Dutchwoman in 45 years to reach the semi-finals with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Swiss eighth seed Timea Bacsinszky.

Williams is looking to equal Steffi Graf's modern era record (since 1968) of 22 Grand Slam titles set in Paris in 1999.