{blackbabes} NOW RANKED 172, SERENA EYES TORONTO STOP TO HELP REBUILD

Serena Williams plans to play a lot of tennis between now and the U.S. Open -- including the Rogers Cup that begins Aug. 8 in Toronto.

"I like competing in Canada, especially in Toronto," Williams said Wednesday on a conference call. "I think I won there before (in 2001), but it feels like a lifetime ago.

"So it's time to get back there and do it again."

The 29-year-old Williams is on the rebound from health problems that emerged after winning her fourth Wimbledon title in 2010. First she suffered a serious foot injury after stepping on some glass.

Then in February, she was diagnosed with a potentially fatal blood clot in a lung and some internal bleeding.

She returned after a 50-week convalescence for a tournament at Eastbourne in England last month, just ahead of Wimbledon, where she lost in the round of 16 to Marion Bartoli of France.

The hard-hitting right-hander who has been ranked first in the world five times, most recently in 2009, has seen her ranking drop to No. 172.

But the trip to England had her upbeat that she can regain her championship form again.

"Everything feels a lot better," she said. "I got a good report from the doctor and he says I can play with confidence.

"I think that's the key word -- going out and playing with confidence and not thinking it could ever happen again. That's a great feeling and hopefully I'll be able to do better now."

She is staying active. On Wednesday, she was just back home from a trip to Albany, N.Y., to play World Team Tennis against long-time rival Martina Hingis and others.

Williams is entered in a tournament at Stanford beginning Monday, then has a week off before playing the Rogers Cup and an event in Cincinnati in back-to-back weeks. The U.S. Open begins Aug. 29 in New York.

"That's more than I usually play," she said. "It will be more than I played all last year, so that will definitely propel me to be really fit going into the Open. And match-fit -- that's really going to help me."

Asked if she aspires to be No. 1 again, Williams said: "My goals right now are to do well at the Rogers Cup and the grand slams, pretty much every tournament I play in. If I can get back to No. 1 that would be a bonus but right now my goal is just to do the right thing on the court and do the best I can to win.

"Now I'm just working on a few things I know I need to work on, and hopefully when I get to play in the Rogers Cup the results will show. I hate losing, as everyone probably knows. But I also know that when you lose it gives you motivation and makes you better."

Also on the horizon are the 2012 Olympics in London. Williams is a two-time gold medallist and wouldn't mind going for the hat-trick.

"I'm hoping I can get there," she said. "The way I'm ranked now I'll have to put in a lot of good work, so we'll see."

Then she added with a laugh: "I think I deserve it though."