Tennis: Venus desperate to add to her remarkable Wimbledon title haul

Published on Wednesday 24 June 2009 10:22

VENUS is back in her natural orbit – in the ascendency at Wimbledon.

Richard Williams has always taught his daughters to think big, so it's little surprise that Venus has lofty aspirations. She is aiming for a third consecutive and sixth title at the All England Club, which would leave her just two behind Wimbledon legend Martina Navratilova.

Williams merely went through the paces during a regulation 6-3, 6-2 first round win over Switzerland's Stefanie Voegele.

"This is the best place to be as a professional tennis player, I enjoy every blade of it," said Williams. "I want to make the crown mine again."

While sister Serena has tasted success at every slam, Venus has only enjoyed such dominance at the All England Club. The US Open is the only other major tournament in her collection of seven slam titles and she last won that eight years ago.

"This (Wimbledon] has just been my place of success. If I had to pick one slam to win, it's going to be this one," she added. "I've been in a position to win the others but I've always been a little bit unlucky. However, I feel I still have the game to put myself in the position to win any of the majors, so I will just keep trying."

Elsewhere, sixth seed Jelena Jankovic beat Germany's Julia Goerges 6-4, 7-6. The Serbian has questioned her own motivation in the build-up to Wimbledon and despite the dominant nature of the scoreline, it was clear there was still rustiness in her game.

"I need this sort of match to give me confidence," said Jankovic. "I need to find my smile again on the court. That is when I play my best tennis."