Injured former world No.1 Venus Williams says there is plenty of great tennis left in her career, despite her forced early exit from the Australian Open.
The 30-year-old's third round clash with German Andrea Petkovic lasted just seven minutes on Friday night before Williams, who had injured her groin in
her previous match, indicated she could not continue.
But despite having also spent time sidelined last year with a knee injury, Williams said those setbacks had not caused any thoughts of retirement to cross her mind.
"I'm still pretty good, even when I'm injured. I mean, at the (2010 US) Open I came pretty close to winning that tournament just on a hope and a prayer and little to no preparation," she said.
"Here, you know, I was grinding. So I'm just going to focus obviously on getting healthy and coming back.
"Because I love tennis and I've got a lot of great tennis in me. I love my job, so no end in sight."
Williams said it was a "super disappointing" way to be eliminated from a grand slam event, the first time in her career she has had to pull out of one of the majors through injury.
She said while she had aggravated the injury and might have been better off not playing, she had prided herself throughout her career on never making excuses and never giving less than a total effort.
"I feel like I tried really hard to be in this tournament," she said.
"At this point I have peace of mind that I gave everything I had at all points. So more than anything, I can't be disappointed in that aspect."
- AAP
