Serena Williams hopes her burning desire to win the Australian Open
helps her banish four years of disappointment and claim a record sixth
title in Melbourne.
Williams, 33, has endured mixed form in her
lead in to the year's opening grand slam, in the Hopman Cup in Perth and
during her time on the practice court.
The top seed and world No.
1 could have a tough start at Melbourne Park, potentially facing a pair
of former grand slam finalists in the opening four rounds.
She
begins against Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium, although on Saturday she
professed to not knowing who she had drawn nor anything about the player
when informed of her name.
What Williams does know is that her motivation to claim another
Australian title burns as much - if not more - than any of her
opponents, particularly after crashing out in the fourth round last
year.
"It would be really great. I've been going for number six for a number of years now," Williams said.
"It
would be really special for me. I would be really happy. I want it I
think more than anyone else here. But that doesn't mean I'm going to get
it, so I'll have to fight hard to get it."
The last of Williams' five Australian Open wins was in 2010.
The
fight Williams spoke about could ultimately be against Maria Sharapova,
with the No.2 eying the opportunity to regain the top ranking should
she win in Melbourne.
"Look, obviously No.1 is a ranking that every single player wants to grab and works so hard for," Sharapova said.
"There's
a lot of players that have an opportunity to get there, and I'm one of
them. I am, of course, determined to do that. But by doing that you need
to win more matches than the person that's in first place. So that's
the goal."
Sharapova, who plays a qualifier in the first round,
could face Eugenie Bouchard in the quarter-finals and Ana Ivanovic, whom
she beat in the Brisbane International final last weekend, in the
semis. She could then meet Williams in the final.
Williams'
immediate goal is to return to the form that allowed her to capture last
year's US Open crown - the 18th title of her glittering career.
She
has blamed her struggles in recent weeks on fatigue but is expected to
have her power game and touch in better condition come Tuesday.
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