Serena Williams overcame a rolled right ankle to advance to the quarterfinals of the US Open.

Williams, seeded eighth, suffered the injury in the middle of the second set against Petra Martic, but managed to finish out the 6-3, 6-4 victory in 1 hour, 32 minutes.

"I just rolled it. I don't know why," Williams said of the injury that left her cross-legged in the middle of Arthur Ashe Stadium for a few moments. "I was volleying and it just went over, so that was a little frustrating."

She immediately asked for a trainer, who added tape to her lower right leg and foot during a medical timeout at the ensuing changeover. Soon enough, Williams was back on course to make her 11th straight quarterfinals appearance at Flushing Meadows.

She ended this match by raising both arms after smacking an ace at 118 mph, her fastest of the afternoon, punctuating an overpowering performance that included 38 winners to Martic's 11.

Next up for Williams is Wang Qiang, who knocked off No. 2 seed Ash Barty in straight sets.

Williams' win Sunday comes on the second birthday of her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., which Williams noted on Instagram earlier in the day.

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The last 2 years have been my greatest accomplishment

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Sep 1, 2019 at 5:59am PDT

The winner of 23 Grand Slam titles, Williams is looking for her elusive first tournament win of any kind since stepping away from tennis in 2017 for the birth of her daughter.

Williams has dealt with various health issues all season, including one that ended her stay at the Australian Open.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.