WHAT HAPPENED: It seems every time Serena Williams steps out her front door these days, she's chasing another record. With her first-round win over Kristie Ahn this week in Flushing Meadows, she broke a deadlock with Chris Evert for most match wins at the US Open with No. 102. It also marked her Open era-best 352nd victory at a Grand Slam. No one else is even close. (Watch: Serena's 102 wins)
But there's really only one number that occupies Williams' thoughts these days: 24. That's the all-time benchmark for major singles titles, the record held by Aussie legend Margaret Court, something she's been pursuing since she sported beads and was just Venus' kid sister.
Williams took another step toward that cherished number on Thursday night, outhitting 117th-ranked Russian Margarita Gasparyan, 6-2, 6-4, and moving into the third round of the US Open for the 20th time in as many tries.
"I've been playing so long that I now play in the modern era, where there's no crowd, it's all digital," said Williams of the fan-less environment in Arthur Ashe Stadium. "But there's something kind of calming about it."
The match was momentarily delayed as light rain prompted a roof closure. There was no delay, however, to Williams finding her form. She held serve at love with a 104 mph ace to open the match. She then broke her 26-year-old opponent, who was making just her third main-draw appearance in New York. Trailing 5-1, Gasparyan managed to break Williams at love to remain in the set, but would come no closer.
Williams, 38, had to work for it in the second set, which featured five service breaks. In all, she converted five of 11 break-point opportunities in the one-hour, 33-minute contest.
Williams improved to 3-0 against the Muscovite, a former Top-50 performer who missed the 2016 and 2017 US Open after undergoing no fewer than three left-knee surgeries.
WHAT IT MEANS: We're now in store for an all-American clash between the six-time champ Williams and 2017 US Open titlist Sloane Stephens, who moved on via a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Olga Govortsova of Belarus. Williams has dominated their head-to-heads, 5-1, which includes a Round-of-16 win at the US Open in 2013, but they haven't faced each other in five years.
"She's such a good player," said Williams. "She plays so smooth. She looks like it doesn't take a lot of energy then, bam, there's five winners. She's obviously won here before, and she's beaten me before, so she knows how to play well."
MATCH POINT: Williams now owns a perfect 12-0 record vs. Russians at the US Open.
