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Venus shines on

Venus shines on

01/25/2010 08:06:50 AM

Sixth seed Venus Williams believes she still has it what it takes to win a Grand Slam title after moving into the last eight of the Australian Open on Monday.

Williams, who turns 30 in June, came from a set down to defeat Italian Francesca Schiavone 3-6 6-2 6-1 in the fourth round.

If she goes on to win the Australian Open, Williams will become the oldest Grand Slam champion since Steffi Graf won the French Open on the eve of her 30th birthday in 1999.

Williams last won a Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2008, but not since the US Open in 2001 has she won a major outside of the All-England Club.

After reaching the last eight or better in her first five visits to Melbourne, Williams has only managed one quarter-final appearance since 2003.

But despite all this, the American remains confident of further Grand Slam success.

"I'm ready to go and I feel very well. Obviously, you know, hitting the ball pretty good, especially against her today. She was really playing well," Williams said after her win.

She will now play 16th seed Li Na in the quarters with a potential showdown against sister Serena looming in the semi-finals.

Li won their only previous match 7-5 7-5 at the Beijing Olympics, but Williams isn't one to dwell on past results.

"I'm really just focusing on the now. I don't make it too complicated," she said.

Li also won't be using that match as a guide and is instead focusing on the future.

"I don't really remember because it was one-and-a-half years already. It was a good experience for me, for my tennis," Li said after her 6-4 6-3 upset victory over fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki.

"But I just want to forget, because I will play her again. So I didn't want (to) always think about the last match. I want to look forward."

Should Venus progress to the semis and Serena do likewise, then the pair will meet for the 24th time.

Serena has won the last four encounters to take a 13-10 lead in the head-to-head record and Venus admitted that it's always tough playing her younger sister.

"I think it's challenging because we're both so good. We both want to win," she said.

"It's just difficult I think for us to play against each other because I think we have so much respect for each other's game."

 
Photograph Copyright : Getty Images

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