#FantasyTennis insider: Ready for Roland Garros?

Published by FTL Insider

If Rafael Nadal isn't in your team, why not? Photo: Getty Images
Okay, Rafael Nadal is a given in your Roland Garros squad, but who else should you be picking for next week?

***Lockout closes early this week. French Open first round begins Sunday 11am in Paris***

It’s the second Major of the year. A chance to score big points over two tough weeks of tennis. But predicting winners on the clay is hard – it’s a specialist surface and some surprise names will excel, while champions will falter.

Forgive us if this sounds like the bloomin’ obvious, but if you’re serious about winning fantasytennisleague.com you need to have Rafael Nadal ($21.05m) in your team. Yes he lost early in Rome, but the reality is that Rafa is the overwhelming favourite to complete La Decima in Paris this year and his extended rest after Rome is more likely to help than hinder him.

The real question you need to answer is who can challenge him? Nadal’s Roman conqueror, Dominic Thiem ($12.55m) is another player in blistering form, and has pedigree at Roland Garros (he made the semifinals in 2016). However, the way he was blown away by Novak Djokovic ($13.63m) shows that there are gaps in his impressive game, and those gaps may well get exposed over the course of two weeks. Djokovic may have finally found his mojo this season, and for the first time seems like a reasonable investment given his pedigree on all surfaces. Meanwhile, 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka ($9.8m) has a habit of peaking around the Slams, and is just about overdue a trophy.

RELATED: With monthly prize pots it’s never too late to play fantasytennisleague.com

What about Rome champion Alex Zverev ($11.58m)? While the German is undoubtedly enjoying a hot streak of form, he has never gone beyond the third round of a Slam. Expect him to go deepish in Paris, but perhaps he needs another year or two to develop the mental and physical grit required to lift a major title.

Finally (for the men), is there anyone to avoid this week? Given his horrible run of form and plummeting value, Andy Murray ($11.3m) looks like a very risky investment. Albert Ramos-Vinolas ($9.12m) seems to have finally run out of steam after a stellar couple of months – expect his value to drop significantly. And Juan Martin del Potro ($7.1m) has indicated that he may have to pull out due to injury problems.

Unlike the men, there is no clear favourite in the women’s draw. In fact, the only player who could possibly wear the badge of favourite, Simona Halep ($13.57m), has said she is only 50/50 to compete after picking up an injury in Rome.

This begs the question: who to pick? Rome champion Elina Svitolina ($12.76m) may not have progressed beyond the quarterfinals of a Slam before, but is riding a career-defining wave at the moment. The Ukranian has won more WTA titles than anyone else this season, clay is her strongest surface and she seems like a player every team should have next week.

Perhaps a greater gamble, but one who could go deep, is Kristina Mladenovic ($13.58m). The French favourite is another player in blistering form, but has thrown in the occasional wobble this season – a first round exit in Rome last week a classic example.

Defending champion Garbine Muguruza ($6.42m) is a concern in terms of both fitness and form, but will be desperate to put together a run on the red stuff; 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova ($11.34m) has been threatening to throw down a big performance, and has the clay pedigree to do so this year; and what about Venus Williams ($11.29m)? The 2002 finalist will fancy her chances with those around her faltering on the big stage.

Top Tip: The Roland Garros draw is key. Don’t finalise your team until you see where the names land.
Buy: Dominic Thiem ($12.55m) – we’re working on the assumption you already have Nadal, and Thiem is a great second pick.
Sell: Johanna Konta ($10.97m) – the Brit struggles on clay, and will undoubtedly drop further in value after the second Slam of the year.

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