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Who can stop Serena Williams winning Wimbledon?

Sports Mole takes a look at some of the players who could stop Serena Williams winning a sixth Wimbledon title.

In less than a week, the women's Wimbledon final will take place, and with several of the top seeds already out, it looks like world number one Serena Williams could be heading towards her 21st Grand Slam title.

Defending champion Petra Kvitova, who is the only player to have beaten the five-time champion on the WTA tour in 2015, suffered a surprise third-round defeat, while world number three Simona Halep crashed out in the first round.

Last year's beaten finalist Eugenie Bouchard and former world number one Ana Ivanovic are among the other seeds to have failed to reach the second week.

Here, Sports Mole looks at some of the remaining players that could prevent Williams from lifting the Venus Rosewater dish for a sixth time.


1. Maria Sharapova

Fourth seed Maria Sharapova is the highest-ranked player after Williams still in contention at SW19, coming through her first three matches in straight sets, leaving her with a fourth-round meeting with unseeded Zarina Diyas.

The 2004 champion has beaten Williams at Wimbledon before, doing so in the final 11 years ago to secure her only title at the grass-court Grand Slam, and she is scheduled to meet the top seed in the semi-finals this year.

 Serena Williams of the United States holds the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and Maria Sharapova of Russia holds the runner up plate after their women's final match during day 13 of the 2015 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 31, 2015© Getty Images

Sharapova has beaten Williams just twice in 19 meetings though, with her last win coming back in 2004 in the end of year Tour Championships, and she lost the Australian Open final in straight sets to the American earlier this year, which was the last time they faced each other.

Sharapova's form in the Grand Slam's has been mixed over the last couple of year's with two finals and four fourth-round exits from her last six events, and she has been past the fourth round just once in the last eight years at Wimbledon, losing the 2011 final to Kvitova.



2. Venus Williams

At 35, Venus Williams is a long shot to win the Wimbledon title, with her last Grand Slam win coming back in 2008, but her little sister will have to defeat her in order to reach the quarter-finals.

Venus Williams of the United States plays a forehand in her Ladies Singles first round match against Madison Brengle of the United States during day one of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 29,© Getty Images

Serena and Venus are due to meet in a major for the first time in six years next week after the world number one survived a third-round scare against Britain's Heather Watson, and the five-time champion could be one of the toughest opponents for the top seed as she bids for a sixth Wimbledon title.

Venus struggled with her health and fitness for several years after being diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Sjorgen's syndrome, but she has been back in the top 20 for almost a year, and made the quarter-finals at the Australian Open earlier this year, which was her best Grand Slam performance since the 2010 US Open.

Venus's return to form was confirmed in Montreal last year, when she beat her sister in three sets, giving her an 11th win in 25 meetings with the world number one, which was the last time the sisters met.



3. Lucie Safarova

Sixth seed Lucie Safarova will face a tricky run if she is to make the Wimbledon final, but the Czech has been one of the form players on the WTA tour this season, resulting in her reaching her first Grand Slam final at the French Open last month.

Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova returns to US player Sloane Stephens during their women's singles third round match on day five of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 3, 2015© Getty Images

The 28-year-old pushed Williams hard on the clay in Paris, narrowly missing out on the title, but she could get another shot against the world number one in semi-finals at SW19.

Safarova, who was a beaten semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 2014, will face the unseeded Coco Vandeweghe next before a potential quarter-final meeting with Sharapova.

Should Williams and Safarova meet in the last four, it will be the 10th time that the duo have faced it other, but the world number six has never come away with the win.



4. Victoria Azarenka

It has been a difficult couple of years for former world number one Victoria Azarenka, as she missed most of 2014 with a foot injury, resulting in her dropping out of the top 40 in the WTA rankings earlier this year.

The Belarusian made her return at the start of 2015, and was unseeded at the Australian Open; a tournament which she has won twice in the last four years, but she has clawed her way back up to 24th in the world rankings ahead of Wimbledon.

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus celebrates a point in her Ladies’ Singles Third Round match against Kristina Mladenovic of France during day five of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 3, 2015© Getty Images

The 25-year-old faces promising young Swiss player Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, but will play the winner of the clash between the Williams sisters in the quarter-finals if she gets past the 30th seed.

Unlike most of the women left in the draw, Azarenka has multiple wins over Williams, beating her twice in 2013 before being hampered by injuries, and pushing her hard in a three-set battle at the French Open.



5. Madison Keys

On paper, 21st seed Madison Keys may seem unlikely to make the final, having never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon before, but she is in the bottom half of the draw, where Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki is the only top 10 ranked player remaining.

Madison Keys of the US celebrates after victory in her women's singles match against Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova on day six of the 2015 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 24, 2015© Getty Images

The young American should be confident of reaching the last eight with a fourth-round meeting with world number 122 Olga Govortsova, while the winner of the match between Jelena Jankovic and Agnieszka Radwanska awaits in the quarters.

Keys, who was inspired to take up tennis as a child because she liked a dress worn by Venus Williams at Wimbledon, reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time earlier this year, losing to Serena in straight sets.

The bottom half of the draw is now perfectly set for someone like Keys to cause a surprise and reach the final, much like Germany's Sabine Lisicki in 2013, and she will have learnt from her match against Williams in Melbourne to provide a sterner test should the pair meet again this time around.

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Andy Murray of Great Britain plays a forehand return during his Gentlemen's Singles third round match against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain on day five of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 27,
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