Williams willing to pay price

Williams: Loves Wimbledon

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Defending champion Venus Williams says she is willing to put in plenty of hard work as she bids for a fifth Wimbledon title.

The American has been out of form this season, with no tournament victory and just one semi-final place so far in 2008.

Her most recent appearance saw her exit the French Open at the third round stage at the hands of Italy's Flavia Pennetta.

Despite such poor form, Williams says her fine record at Wimbledon gives her confidence and she has been training hard to achieve her goal.

British number five Naomi Cavaday will be her first opponent as she continues a tradition which sees the women's champion play Tuesday's first match on Centre Court.

Williams said: "I'm excited about playing on Tuesday at 1pm, that's always the ultimate honour in tennis.

Enjoy moment

"I'm going to try to enjoy that moment and obviously bring my best tennis. Wimbledon is the ultimate place to play your best tennis. The most wonderful tournament to win would definitely be here.

"I've been blessed to do well a few times here, so that feels obviously very good. I just love it here. It's good for my game, too."

She admitted that she has thought about winning for a fifth time.

"But I know that I'm going to have to work for it. I'm willing to pay that price," she added.

"It's always extremely exciting coming back as the defending champion. It's nice to have the memories from last year all kind of flowing into this year. I've had really great times with my family and my friends here.

"It's nice coming to a tournament where you have a really good record, because obviously that gives you good confidence.

"But mostly I think about, 'What is it going to take this year and what will I have to do well this year? How will I have to adjust? How is the grass playing? What challenges do I need to overcome?' I just really focus on what's at hand.

Play better

"As usual, you just have to play better. So there's really no magic to it. It's just about playing the best.

"I really don't know much about the favourites or what have you going into this year. I've been really just head to the ground, just practising and training.

"Ultimately the best player will win. I'm going to aim for that to be me."

Williams admitted she does not know much about her first-round opponent Cavaday, who is ranked world number 197, 190 places below the American.

She added: "The fact that I'm playing a woman from here, I don't necessarily put that into the equation. I try to prepare the best that I can for each and every player."