{blackbabes} Disease, back pain won't keep Venus from Open

Former World No. 1 Venus Williams, battling a back injury and an auto-immune disease, enters the US Open pleased that she can take the court after having to withdraw last year.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion pulled out in 2011 after being diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome, which had left her listless and drained of energy for years before being diagnosed and treated with medication.

"Last year was a definitely a tough year. I've come a long way," Williams said. "It's great to be back and feeling a lot better.

"Last summer everything was so hard. I didn't understand why. Every day I just wanted to quit at practice. I would tell myself, 'Maybe tomorrow I'll feel better. Just keep going.' It was very difficult.

"This year when I practice, I don't want to quit. It's a huge difference. I've come a long way thanks to my doctors and everything else. It's great."

Williams will open against US wildcard Bethanie Mattek-Sands and could face a second-round meeting with German sixth seed Angelique Kerber, who ousted Williams from the London Olympics singles in the third round.

"I played my best tennis of the year at the Olympics," Williams said.

That set Williams for a semi-final run at Cincinnati, where she developed a back injury that denied her full power on her serves by the end.

"Every point I gave everything I possibly could. That should give me confidence going into my matches," Williams said. "I'm not 100 percent but I'm going to try to get close to 100 percent for my match.

"I didn't start hitting serves until Thursday so I had to take it easy. I've just had a soft preparation. But I feel good about my game.

"With injuries you have to start to get used to the pain, so that's pretty much what it's going to be for me -- just get used to it and keep going."

Williams lost a 2010 US Open semi-final to eventual champion Kim Clijsters and has not won a title since defending crowns at Dubai and Acapulco in 2010.

She has not won a Grand Slam title outside Wimbledon since the 2001 US Open and she has not reached the US Open final since losing to her sister Serena in the 2002 title match.

But part of the reason for that is that she has been nagged for the past five years by Sjogren's and has had to adjust her life on and off the court.

"I just didn't know what was wrong with me. I just had to get a lot worse before I could get diagnosed," she said. "I had different diagnoses, like asthma. One doctor told me that maybe I should go see a psychiatrist.

"It takes time to find the right combinations and try different things. The main medicine for my disease takes six months before it kicks in, so you're sitting at home like, 'What month is it now?'

"It's a long process and you definitely learn to change your life. You have to learn to accept limitations and accept that maybe you don't recover well."

Williams has to conserve energy to make the most of her tennis talent.

"I try to get a lot of rest. I'm not trying to conquer anything else. I'm tired," she said.

"I was very hands on with my businesses, but now I have taken more of a back seat and just do 'most important' role, which is not be such a busybody or control freak."

Yet when it comes to defeating the disease by recapturing her former form, that's exactly what she is trying to become.

"I feel like I can't let anything take me down. I have to beat this," she said. "This is what it's all about is beating this and not just for me, but for everyone who has felt ill or sick and wants to return back to what they were.

"I have a lot to prove to myself."