Photos from Cincinnati: Battle for the No.1 WTA ranking heats up

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Main-draw play at the 2017 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati is officially underway and the big story in the American midwest this year is the battle for the No.1 ranking, as no less than five WTA players are in contention to leave Ohio with the coveted position.

Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina, Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber (four of the five) met with the media on Monday to discuss their chances of getting to the top of the sport this week (or defending their position, in Pliskova’s case).

While none of the top seeds were in action on Monday, two other big-name players secured their ticket for the second round — Petra Kvitova and Madison Keys. Both needed to go an extra mile, though. Kvitova found herself a set down against Anett Kontaveit, forcing the Czech two-time Wimbledon champion to dig deep and edge out a three-set win. Keys’ evening was slightly less dramatic, but she did need three sets to beat fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe in what was a rematch of their Stanford final.

The rest of round one will be played tomorrow, so keep checking back for all the latest photos from Cincinnati all week long.

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