Both Ashleigh Barty's contenders for no.1 spot dropped out at the Western & Southern Open in the quarterfinals, and the Australian contends with three other players for the title
The day began with a match between
Ashleigh Barty and Maria Sakkari. Everything looked very good for Barty in the first set, but the Greek showed that she wanted to fight for the semifinals and won the first set 7-5. Barty then showed why she is World number 1 and in the next two sets, she
knocked Sakkari off court 6-2 and 6-0.
In the next match, Barty's first rival for No. 1 spot got into the action. Karolina Pliskova led 6-3 and 5-3 against
Svetlana Kuznetsova. But Kuznetsovova showed the experience and
was able to turn the match so she meets Barty in the semifinals.
The third match ended very sadly when Osaka managed to play very well in the second after losing the first set. But at the beginning of the third set, she got injured and
had to give up the match. Sofia Kenin advanced to the semifinals. And Barty's second rival dropped out, so she made sure she will be ranked first again on Monday.
In the last match, Venus Williams and
Madison Keys met in an all-American duel. The younger player had no problems with the older of Williams' sisters and advanced to the semi-finals in 2 sets. In the semifinal, we will see another all-American battle when she will be facing Sofia Kenin.
Day 5 results of women's singles at Western & Southern Open:
| | | Barty A. (Aus) | 2 | 5 | 6 | 6 | | | | | |
| Sakkari M. (Gre) | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 | | | |
|
| | | Pliskova Ka. (Cze) | 1 | 6 | 62 | 3 | | | | | |
| Kuznetsova S. (Rus) | 2 | 3 | 77 | 6 | | | |
|
| | | Kenin S. (Usa) | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | | | | | |
| Osaka N. (Jpn) ret. | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 | | | |
|
| | | Williams V. (Usa) | 0 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | |
| Keys M. (Usa) | 2 | 6 | 6 | | | | |