Serena Williams 'gunning' to match Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova by winning 18th Grand Slam at Australian Open

World number one Serena Williams is reportedly gunning to match former world number ones Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova by winning an 18th Grand Slam title at the upcoming Australian Open.

The American ace cemented her dominance of the sport with 11 titles last year, including the US and French Opens, and picked up where she left off by winning the Brisbane International on Saturday.

According to Sport24, Williams, who will be entering the season-opening Grand Slam as red-hot favourite, however, said that she feels she still has room for improvement if she wants to win the Open.

Despite her rich vein of form, Williams is not taking an 18th Grand Slam title and sixth Australian Open crown for granted, knowing that she needs to start from scratch at Melbourne Park next week.

However, Czech-American great Navratilova believes Williams is not only poised to equal her career Grand Slam haul, but could even catch Steffi Graf's Open-era record of 22 if she can stay healthy.