The competitive fire is still burning in Venus Williams and, unlike some of her contemporaries who extinguished their careers early, the five-times Wimbledon champion plans to stick around until at least the 2012 Olympics.
Having watched rivals like Justine Henin take early retirement at the top of their games, the 29-year-old Williams is still hungry for success after contesting seven of the nine finals at the All England Club since the turn of the millennium.
"I want to play the (2012) Olympics here," the American told reporters on Sunday, referring to the Games tennis event which will be held at Wimbledon.
"It's really not that far off. It's just, what, three years. So I definitely would love to be playing the Olympics here and representing, going for more golds." Since making her debut in south-west London as a giggly teenager in 1997 with a head full of braids and beads, Williams has seen top players like Martina Hingis and Jennifer Capriati fall victim to burnout.
But Venus and her younger sister Serena still have the drive to win. "Serena and I, we often talk about that. Wonder what happened to them (the players who retired early)," said Venus.
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