NEW YORK -- So many of her gifted contemporaries -- Justine Henin, Martina Hingis, Kim Clijsters -- checked out early. Clement Lenglet Jersey . Why has Serena Williams, less than three weeks from her 35th birthday, continued to subject herself to the rigors of elite tennis?I think it just comes from a different place of just love and really enjoying it, Williams said Monday after she advanced to the quarterfinals of the US Open. I definitely never thought I would be playing still. Now I dont really see when Im going to stop because Im just enjoying these moments out here, getting to break records that I didnt even know existed or I didnt even know was possible.I think when you really enjoy what you do, its different.Four matches in, the No. 1-seeded Williams is precisely where the draw predicted -- opposite No. 5 Simona Halep in a 7 p.m. ET match Wednesday at Arthur Ashe Stadium (ESPN2 and WatchESPN).Given the quality and quantity of her time in tennis, Williams is starting to threaten many of the standards of this great game. On Monday, she won her 308th Grand Slam singles match, vaulting her past Roger Federer for the most all time.I just think winning 308 matches in general is pretty awesome. For that to be in a Grand Slam is pretty cool, she said. Its a huge number. Ive been playing for a really long time, but also given that consistency up there. Thats something that Im really proud of.Williams, by broad consensus, is the greatest womens server ever. How is it possible that, here, in her 21st year as a professional, she is serving better than ever?In the gaudy area of aces, shes well ahead of the field with 42, but her percentage of unreturned serves (48) and first-serve points won (87) are far and away the best numbers here. She cracked a 126 mph ace Monday against Yaroslava Shvedova -- fastest on the womens side here and faster than more than half the men.Its easy to forget Williams came in with a shoulder injury that caused her to miss the tournament three weeks in Cincinnati.I dont think I really served in the summer until I got here to New York, she said. It was a really tough summer for me.Maybe thats the key.Williams has beaten Halep in seven of their eight previous meetings, most recently in March at Indian Wells in straight sets. Halep dismissed the idea that it would be a mental challenge.Shes like the best player in the world, Halep said. I dont have to be afraid or to have emotions because I have nothing to lose. Like I said many times, I have learned from her many times.Such as?Oh, shes ambitious, Halep said. She gives everything to win all the matches. Her focus. She is focused, and she doesnt give up. Three things. And Im not telling anymore.Serena, who has been ranked at No. 1 for 186 consecutive weeks, knows the drill. She welcomes the added motivation on the other side of the court in her matches.With everyone I play, they play a step up and above their ranking, she said. I think thats the beauty, one of the reasons Im able to hang. Everyone Im playing is playing like theyre No. 1.To me it doesnt really matter who I play because I have to expect theyre going to play the match of their life. Ivan Rakitic Jersey .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. Jasper Cillessen Jersey . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. http://www.barcelonasoccerpro.com/Authen...rcelona-Jersey/ . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. Albert Ramos-Vinolas won his first ATP World Tour singles title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the Swedish Open final in Bastad.Ramos-Vinolas, seeded three, triumphed in 86 minutes to end a three-match losing streak against fifth seed Verdasco and lift the winners trophy, which was presented by former world No.1 Bjorn Borg.World No.35 Ramos-Vinolas never looked back after racing into a 4-1 lead in the opening set courtesy of breaks in the third and fifth games and although he dropped serve in the sixth, he broke Verdasco again to take it 6-3.Verdasco, 32, squandered three break points in the second set before being broken for a fourth time to trail 5-3 and although Ramos-Vinolas dropped his serve in the next game, the 28-year-old broke again to seeal the set 6-4 and take the title. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen Jersey. lovakias Martin Klizan clinched his second ATP World Tour final of the season with a similarly straightforward 6-1, 6-4 win against Pablo Cuevas in the German Tennis Championships in Hamburg.World No.47 Klizan, who won the Rotterdam Open in February, proved too strong for his Uruguayan rival to put a 10-week lay-off due to a foot injury firmly behind him with victory in exactly one hour.Klizan, 27, reeled off five straight games to take the first set 6-1 and after an exchange of breaks in the second he comfortably served out at 5-4 up for the match to seal the title without dropping a set in the tournament. ' ' '