Venus Williams looks good as Wimbledon begins

For the second year in a row, Williams begins the tournament with little success to draw on in recent months.

On the eve of tennis' grandest event, Venus Williams walked the halls wearing a chic white sweatshirt, braids reaching nearly to her waist and gold earrings the size of tennis balls.

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She tends to stand out - especially at Wimbledon. For the second year in a row, Williams begins the tournament with little success to draw on in recent months.

A long layoff again raised questions about her health and motivation, and she has played only 14 matches since September.

But rustiness turned out not to be an issue a year ago - when she won Wimbledon for the third time - and she'll be among the favorites when she plays her opening match on Tuesday against fellow American Bethanie Mattek.

"It seems like my game goes to another level here," Williams said.

"I love it. I think a lot of times, by the time this tournament comes around, I've gotten a few kinks out of my game. I always come into the tournament very positive. That's really crucial."

Williams hasn't won a tournament since Wimbledon a year ago, and she's seeded only sixth - strange for a player with a 34-3 record at the All England Club since 2000.

She's the fourth choice of London bookmakers, behind 2004 champion Maria Sharapova, French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne and US Open winner Kim Clijsters. Still, no one will be eager to face Williams, the winner of five Grand Slam titles.

"You can never count her out," said Martina Hingis, playing at Wimbledon for the first time since 2001. "She showed she's still got some skills last year. She's definitely a dangerous player."

Also taking the court on the second day of the tournament Tuesday will be Andy Roddick, runner-up to Roger Federer the past two years, and Andre Agassi, who will begin his final Wimbledon by facing Boris Pashanski.

The 36-year-old Agassi announced Saturday that he'll retire after the U.S. Open.

"He's a great champion," Williams said. "I admire that he has always done things his way despite what the establishment may have said how he should do it."

Williams, 26, said retirement's not on the horizon for her, but it has been several years since she kept a full schedule. After a first-round loss at the Australian Open in January, she missed more than three months with an elbow injury.

She said she'll sit out the US tie against Belgium in the Fed Cup semifinals in mid-July.

"I can't play that much tennis and stay healthy," she said. "It's a proven fact."

Williams' most recent match was three weeks ago at the French Open, where she lost to 17-year-old Nicole Vaidisova in the quarterfinals. She flew home to Florida, skipping the grass-court warmup tournaments as usual, and began practicing at Wimbledon on Wednesday.

It's her 10th year at the All England Club.

"At this point, I should be at the height of my strength and experience and know-how," she said. "That's the positivity I'm taking out of it. Each and every match brings me closer to the level that I want to get to."

When Williams arrived at Wimbledon a year ago, she had won a single tournament in the previous 13 months, and it had been four years since her most recent major title. At No. 14, she became the lowest-seeded women's champion, beating Lindsay Davenport in a tense final.

Williams has long felt there's nothing she needs to prove. "I'm not in the provin' business," she said.

"But I am in the business of playing very good tennis, particularly at Wimbledon. Am I more relaxed this year? It seems like it. But once that first round comes around, obviously that will be the true test of really how I feel. So far I feel very good."

At least one Williams sister has played in the past six Wimbledon finals, but absent from the field this year is Serena, the champion in 2002-03. Hobbled by a knee injury, she has been idle since the Australian Open.

Venus said her younger sister will likely rejoin the tour for the hard-court season.

"I'd love for her to be here," Venus said. "It's just so much more fun, so much more jolly, so many more good times. We're a team. "I think looking toward the summer, she'll be coming back, playing obviously good tennis. It will be nice."