Serena Williams: Breaking Down Biggest Obstacles to Madrid Open Title

If Serena Williams is going to cruise to a victory at the Madrid Open, where she currently sits in the third round, she still has plenty of talented women to get past.

Williams breezed past Elena Vesnina and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets, but things are about to get much tougher for the ninth-ranked Williams.

No what happens, though, she at the very least has more bragging rights over Venus, who fell in straight sets to Angelique Kerber in the second round.

Let's take a look at who stands in the way of Serena and yet another championship.

Caroline Wozniacki (3rd Round)

It's only the third round, but things are about to get real tough for Serena as she runs into Wozniacki, the very talented 21-year-old.

Wozniacki has struggled in the first two rounds at Madrid, but nonetheless, she's the sixth-ranked player in the world. She can't be overlooked. 

In her career, the Dane is just 1-3 against Serena, but those losses came when she was very young and had yet to develop her game. The win, of course, came in these two's last meeting.

Maria Sharapova (Quarterfinals)

Serena has pretty much dominated the No. 2 Sharapova, going 7-2 against the 25-year-old in her career, including wins in the last six.

And that includes a win at Charleston on the clay. 

Nonetheless, Sharapova, who has steam-rolled through the first two rounds in straight sets, hasn't faced Serena since 2011, and the majority of their matches occurred five or more years ago.

These are two different players and should make for an exciting matchup should they meet in the quarters. 

Victoria Azarenka (Finals)

If Serena manages to make it to the finals, she likely has a very rough matchup in front of her in Victoria Azarenka. 

Much like the other players on this list, Williams has been dominant in head-to-head competition. Serena is 6-1 against Azarenka, and that includes three wins at the Australian Open, one at Wimbledon, and one at the U.S. Open.

She has dominated the world as No. 1 in big matches.

But, again, as is the case with others on this list, Azarenka, 22, is young and has much improved since they last met in 2011. Azarenka, who won the Australian Open earlier this year, is clearly the player to beat and represents a huge challenge for Williams. 

That's if she gets there. 

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