NEW
YORK (AP) -- Serena Williams now owns more victories in Grand Slam
matches than anyone else in tennis' Open era, surpassing Roger Federer
with her 308th.
So, Serena, who'll wind up with more?
"I
don't know. We'll see," Williams said during her on-court interview
after reaching the U.S. Open quarterfinals by beating Yaroslava Shvedova
6-2, 6-3 on Monday.
"Hopefully we'll both keep going," she added. "I know I plan on it. I know he does. So we'll see."
Federer turned 35 on Aug. 8. Williams turns 35 on Sept. 26.
Williams'
very first win at a Grand Slam tournament came way back when she was
16, a 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-1 victory over Irina Spirlea in the first round
of the Australian Open on Jan. 19, 1998. Williams' first loss at a major
came in her next match, which happened to come against older sister
Venus.
Nearly
two decades later, through plenty of highs and lows, from championships
to health scares, the younger Williams is still at it — and still
winning.
"It's
a huge number," she said about getting to 308. "I think it's very
significant, actually. I think it's something that just really talks
about the length of my career, in particular. I've been playing for a
really long time. But also, given that consistency up there — that's
something that I'm really proud of."
Although
her 36-year-old sibling is active, many of Williams' contemporaries
have come and gone, including Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, who are
both younger, and Martina Hingis, who is only a year older.
"I
definitely never thought I would be playing still," Williams said. "Now
I don't really see when I'm going to stop, because I'm just enjoying
these moments out here, getting to break records that I didn't even know
existed or I didn't even know was possible."
Over
her career, she is 308-42 at the majors, for a winning percentage of
.880. Here's the victory breakdown: 88 at the U.S. Open, 86 at
Wimbledon, 74 at the Australian Open, 60 at the French Open.
Federer
is 307-51 (.858) and can't increase his total until next season,
because he is sitting out the U.S. Open and the rest of 2016 because of
problems with his surgically repaired right knee. Indeed, he recently
tweeted pictures of himself hiking in the Swiss countryside .
Williams,
meanwhile, still has work to do at Flushing Meadows as she pursues
another mark: most Grand Slam singles titles in the Open era, which
began in 1968. She pulled even with Steffi Graf by collecting her 22nd
trophy at Wimbledon in July.
Against
the 52nd-ranked Shvedova, Williams hit a tournament-leading 126 mph
serve, totaled 11 aces, won 28 of 30 points when a first serve landed
in, and didn't face a break point. So far, through four matches,
Williams has not been broken at all, facing only a single break point.
"She's
hitting much harder than a regular player. And the placement and the
bounce is much different," Shvedova said. "It's harder to reach."
Williams
has reached at least the quarterfinals in each of her past nine
appearances at the U.S. Open. A year ago, she was stunned in the
semifinals by Roberta Vinci, ending the American's bid to become the
first player since Graf in 1988 with a calendar-year Grand Slam.
She'll try to get back to the semifinals by beating No. 5 Simona Halep next.
"I just feel like I'm going out there, doing what I need to do," Williams said. "I'm not overplaying, I'm not underplaying."
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