Fantasy Tennis Insider: Shifting surfaces

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? But after the drama and excitement of Wimbledon, it’s time to start thinking about your fantasytennisleague.com team again.

Yes, the Big Show might be over, but there are plenty of points up for grabs in Game Week 22 (if you’re clever in your selections).

The men: Newport, Bastad, Umag

After a month of being subjected to bashing balls around on a muddy field, some of the world’s best clay courters can go back to bashing balls around on a… muddy court. Yes, with the ATP heading both East and West from Wimbledon, there’s a choice of specialists to choose from this week.

Albert Ramos-Vinolas ($7.01m) and Pablo Carreno Busta ($8.66m) are two players who will relish a return to the red stuff in Bastad. But they won’t have it all their own way there, with David Ferrer ($5.08m) and Pablo Cuevas ($7.68m) both among a stacked Swedish field.

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Umag will be another hive of tennis action, with Gael Monfils ($7.86m) aiming to continue his return from injury. On paper, the Frenchman should notch up some points, his main opposition coming in the form of Fabio Fognini ($5.76m) and Benoit Paire ($4.95m). However, all three are capable of collapsing in any given match so are not necessarily the soundest investments.

The tournament to watch (in terms of the draw) is Newport. Wimbledon semifinalist Sam Querrey ($6.46m) and Rafael Nadal’s conqueror Gilles Muller ($7.63m) are both scheduled to play this grass court event. But having gone deep at SW19, there’s no guarantee that they will. One man who should be there is John Isner ($7.27m), the big man looking to atone for his poor performance in London.

The women: Gstaad & Bucharest

Unlike the ATP, it’ll be slim pickings for the next couple of weeks on the WTA (where big names are concerned, anyway).

Kiki Bertens ($7.97m) should go in to Gstaad as the top seed, with Anett Kontaveit ($8.54m) and Caroline Garcia ($8.6m) among the likely contenders for the title. It’s hard to make a call on the potential winner of this one, but Bertens will be looking for points (and a title) after a tricky time on the grass.

Over in Bucharest, Carla Suarez Navarro ($7.28m) will lead a good value field into action. There are a few players that should score points in Romania, perhaps most notably Julia Goerges ($6.52m) and Anastasija Sevastova ($8.09m). If you’re looking for a bargain buy, check out home favourite Monica Niculescu ($2.54m). Always a battler, the Romanian is more than capable of springing an upset when backed by her fans.

Top Tip: The week after a Slam always sees wildcards and withdrawals. Check the draws on Sunday before finalising your team.
Buy: John Isner ($7.27m) – with the Tour moving into North America, Isner will play plenty and should do well.
Sell: Bethanie Mattek-Sands ($5.14m) – out for at least six months after her horrific knee injury, the American’s Fantasy Tennis League season is unfortunately over.