Five-time champion Venus Williams said she was hungry to add to her Wimbledon trophy haul after starting her 2014 campaign Monday with a three-set win.
The 30th seed, who missed last year’s Championships through injury, beat Spain’s world number 53 Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 on the Court Two show court.
Besides her five singles titles at the All England Club, Williams has five more from playing the ladies’ doubles with her younger sister Serena-and is keen to increase her Wimbledon trophy collection.
“Not enough. I would love to add to it so you’ve got to stay hungry,” she said.
“No one is going to get behind you and pet you and say, It’s okay, you can do it. I have to do that for myself.
“I’m not looking for anyone to believe in me or anything like that. You have to believe in yourself these days.
“It’s just absolute focus in this tournament and in all tournaments.
“You really have to go out there and give it your all. You really just have to play smart, be focused, be intense.”
The Williams sisters won the London 2012 Olympics doubles, which was held at the All England Club.
However, Williams crashed out of the Championships in the first round that year, meaning this is her first win in the tournament since 2011.
“It’s fantastic. I was thinking, I haven’t been back here since the 2012 Olympics so coming back I have a lot of great memories from that and, of course, so many great memories just from being here throughout the last 17 years or so,” she said.
“I definitely have been motivated and I’ve been on a lot of lay-offs so it’s not always easy to win the matches you want to win when you come back so many times from injury so I just feel like the more I keep playing, the better I’ll get.”
Williams faces Japan’s Kurumi Nara in the second round, with a possible clash against 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova waiting for the winner.
Williams admitted she knew nothing of her next opponent, the world number 40.
“I just try to advance to every round, so that’s really all that matters to me,” she said.
At 34, Williams is the oldest woman left in the tournament after 43-year-old Kimiko Date- Krumm of Japan crashed out earlier Monday.
Williams voiced her frustration that Wimbledon’s grass courts were playing much slower now than when she started out.
“It’s definitely different. The ball sits up a lot. What I enjoy about all the surfaces is that they are different and that’s what makes it challenging,” she said.
