aiming to win title for fourth time 13:20, January 18, 2009

Serena Williams of the United States says she is happy with her preparation leading into the , an event she is aiming to win for the fourth time.

The American, champion in 2003, 2005 and 2007, arrived in Melbourne soon after her loss to Russian in the semifinals of Sydney's Medibank International on Thursday. Despite the defeat, Williams said her time in the harbour city was valuable.

"I felt like I got some really good matches under me in Sydney and still with plenty of time to rest and get ready for this event," she said.

Williams is the second seed at the Open, and has been placed in the same half of the draw as sister Venus. Also in that half are No. 4 seed Dementieva who after beating Williams in Sydney went onto defeat in the final and take her winning streak to 10 matches and No. 8 seed . Serena Williams of the U.S. celebrates after beating Jelena Jankovic of Serbia during the women's final match at the U.S. Open tournament in Flushing Meadows in New York, in this Sept. 7, 2008 file photo. Williams says that she is not concentrating on who she will potentially face, however, preferring to take it one match at a time.

"Whoever I play, I'm just looking at them as a threat," she said.

There are several threats in the draw this year, with the world No. 2 admitting that the standard of play and motivation had increased among the players on tour since she dominated the sport in 2002 and 2003.

"A lot of the girls now, especially when they play against me, and probably Venus too, they want to beat the best players and say that, you know, I was able to beat them," she said.

"I feel like sometimes when people play me they play extremely hard, which actually makes me a better player.

"I think everyone is playing better ... I think I am too. I would hope I have improved after five years (since she last dominated)."

Williams feels she can continue to improve her consistency and become a better player, and wants to remain a force on tour for many years to come.

"Source:Xinhua"