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I'm not scared says Hackney girl up against Venus
Jack Lefley and Shekhar Bhatia25 Jun 2008
The London tennis player who will meet four-time champion Venus Williams on Wimbledon's Centre Court said today the match holds no fear for her.
Anne Keothavong, who started playing in Hackney at the age of three, said it is the kind of challenge she has been working towards all her life.
The 24-year-old, whose parents fled Laos in the Seventies when the Vietnam war spilled into that country, said: "It's what you play tennis for, to play these big matches. I've got nothing to lose. I'm looking forward to it."
The British number one added: "There's not a lot of point in me going on the court if I didn't think I was going to win. You have to believe in something."
Speaking after after beating Vania juniors at 11. She and her sister were the only tennis players at Kingsland secondary school, but her talent saw her surpass more privileged rivals and progress to become British junior champion.
She is also academically gifted and a talented violinist.
Keothavong does not have the multimillion pound sponsor ship deals - relying on hand-outs from an online bingo website.
She said: "Those who are close to me, my family and close friends know exactly what I've been through to be where I'm at. I think they're very proud of me and I'm proud of myself."
