Great Britain skip Eve Muirhead knows she needs to make a flying start to her Olympic curling campaign in Sochi.
The defending world champion takes on Swedish rival Margarita Sigfridsson in her opening match on Monday - the only player who beat her at the recent European Championships, when she won their final encounter.
"It's a tough opening match playing against the current Europeans and they've had a good last few seasons," said Muirhead.
"It is important to get off to a strong start and we'll have to put in a good performance really early on in the week, so I think it's a good thing.
"The Swedish team are a good rink, they don't have a lot of weaknesses but all the top teams here are really solid.
"We'll need to bring our A game, it will be a tight match and it might come down to the last end or the last shot and we're ready for that."
Rhona Howie, who skipped Great Britain to gold in 2002, is coach in Sochi but she played down the impact of her past endeavours on a youthful rink, three of whom are making their Olmypic debuts.
"These girls have plenty of experience, they've been to world finals and won world finals," she said.
"The pressure is always on, whether you are an athlete or a coach. In 2002 I felt it was all on me to perform and now it's on these guys. It's in their hands and out of my control but they are a great group to work with."
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