No retirement plans for Venus

There was not any hint of retirement from Venus Williams despite her painful first-round defeat at the Australian Open on Monday. Now 33 and recovering from illness and injury problems which have plagued her in recent years, Williams was bundled out by 22nd seed Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 2-6 6-4 6-4 in just under two and a half hours. The American's brilliant start was blunted by crumbles mid-match as she spewed out three successive double faults to lose serve, and at the start of the third set when Williams blew a 3-0 lead. Williams has won seven grand slam singles titles, but none since Wimbledon 2008. There have been no titles at all since October 2012. And her departure on day one at Melbourne Park means that of her six career losses in grand slam first rounds, three have come in the past 18 months. For a former world number one whose best appears behind her, the obvious question amid the ugly recent statistics is how long she will go on playing. But Williams believes playing consistently will bring playing consistency - saying she was already earmarking a return to Melbourne Park next year. "The last 12 months I have had issues, but this year I definitely am looking forward to … having a good run and feeling well," Williams said. "I feel like I have to be patient with myself, because I really haven't had a chance to play that consistently. "So I think I just have to be patient and keep going and just wait for it to keep coming together more and more."