Venus Williams targets Hong Kong win to seal ticket to lucrative season-ending WTA Finals
American legend says she needs to do well in the Prudential Hong Kong Open to qualify for Singapore tournament at the end of month
A deep run into the the Hong Kong Open draw could earn the 35-year-old enough points on the Road to Singapore standings to make the lucrative end-of-season showdown.
There's a really strong field here. I hope to be one of the top eight. This is my last chance to do well. There's some pressure, but that's the job
The top nine players will qualify with Serena Williams, the world No 1, already announcing that she will not be competing. But a relaxed Venus said she can handle the added pressure.
"I want to win here but it wont be easy," said the American. "There's a really strong field here. I hope to be one of the top eight. This is my last chance to do well. There's some pressure, but that's the job. It's about how you handle it."
WATCH: Seven-time grand slam singles winner Venus Williams discuss life after tennis
"Tennis is a gruelling calendar. You have to pace yourself," said Williams. "At this time of year it's been months on hard courts and people are beat up. It's a tough pace to keep up. You just gotta keep your fingers crossed that you stay healthy. Ideally the tennis season would be a little shorter."
The world No 14, who also revealed she is targeting a place representing her counrty at next year's Rio Olympics, has made an incredible recovery since being diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome - an autoimmune disease that affects her stamina - in 2011. Her diagnosis coincided with a slip down the rankings, which culminated in her ending the season outside the top 100 for the first time since 1997.
READ > All our Hong Kong Tennis Open coverage here
A series of battling wins in Wuhan, which included victories against four top 20 players, culminated in Williams outlasting 21-year-old Wimbledon runner-up Garbine Muguruza in an attritional final. But Williams said she's happy to win in any way to earn the titles she still covets at this stage in her career.
"Whatever it takes. Some matches are easier, some matches are long," said Williams. "You have to find a way to win no matter if you're playing great that day, if it's a long match, or if you can't get the ball in."
Meanwhile, Hong Kong's hopes of a hometown hero at this week's Prudential Hong Kong Open will sit squarely on the shoulders of world No 309 Zhang Ling, who was given a wild card into the first round of the main draw, after all four Hong Kong qualifiers failed to make it out of the preliminary stages yesterday.
Ki Yan-Tung lost in straight sets to South Africa's Chanel Simmonds, while Ukranian Kateryna Kozlova made light work of Ng Kwan-yau.
Ng Man-ying was beaten 6-4, 6-3 by mainland counterpart Liu Chang, and Wu Ho-ching went down in straight sets to Japan's Kato Miyu.
