Serena Williams insists the prospect of drawing level with Steffi Graf on 22 Grand Slam singles titles has no bearing on how she approaches Wimbledon.
The world No1 got off to a winning start yesterday, beating Amra Sadikovic 6-2, 6-4 to edge closer to Graf’s mark.
But Williams, a losing finalist in the two Grand Slams to date this year, insisted: “I basically think more or less about winning in Australia, I think about winning the French Open.
"It didn’t happen. And now I think about winning Wimbledon. I don’t necessarily think about winning 22.”
Her sentiments were backed by coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who said of the 22 target, “We don’t talk about it at all. Zero.”
Williams’s last Grand Slam victory came at Wimbledon a year ago, a triumph that ensured she held all four Major titles at the same time.
But she hit back at suggestions the pressure of victory No22 at the highest level was weighing down on her mentally.
She added: “Mentally I’ve been further down than anyone can be. Well, maybe not anyone but I’ve been pretty low. There’s nothing that’s mentally too hard for me.”
Despite Williams sounding a confident note, former world No1 Lindsay Davenport said that her countrywomen had shown an unexpectedly high level of anxiety and stress during her opening victory of the tournament against Sadikovic.
But Williams denied that: “No, I felt I was where I needed to be. I needed to be pumped for the match, I needed to be intense, I needed to show a lot and feel a lot on court.”
