Top 5 Photos, September 27: #HappyFriday for Riske and Sabalenka

It was a somewhat surprising day in Wuhan, as both higher-seeded players were outclassed in their semifinal matches. These are the Top 5 photos from Friday.

1. Unseeded Alison Riske is on fire this week in Wuhan. The American ousted two-time Wuhan champion Petra Kvitova, 7-5, 7-5, to advance into her first WTA Premier 5 final. Riske has been displaying some of her best tennis this season, reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, the final of Shenzhen and claiming two other titles.

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2. Riske defeated three seeds in succession to reach the Wuhan final: No. 8 Wang Qiang, No. 3 Elina Svitolina and No. 5 Kvitova. The 29-year-old will now face her fourth consecutive seeded player, Aryna Sabalenka, for a shot at claiming her second WTA trophy of 2019.

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3. Denis Shapovalov is enjoying a great week of tennis in Chengdu. The 20-year-old was made to work against his quarterfinal opponent Egor Gerasimov, but pulled out a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory. The Canadian will look to end his winless streak in ATP semifinals (0-6) when he takes on Pablo Carreno Busta.

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4. Aryna Sabalenka upended world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, 7-5, 6-4, to reach her second consecutive Wuhan final. At the start of the year, the 21-year-old slipped past Riske in the Shenzhen championship match to capture her lone singles title thus far in 2019. The Belarusian is also into the doubles final with partner Elise Mertens. There must be something in the air that brings out her best tennis in Wuhan.

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5. Eighth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas knocked off Gael Monfils, 7-5, 6-4, to reach his fourth ATP semifinal of the season in Zhuhai. The Spaniard recently came up short in New York against the Frenchman, but on Friday, found ways to end points on his racquet. The world No. 46 set up a last four clash with Adrian Mannarino, who he defeated earlier this season in Geneva.

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