Fantasy Tennis Insider: Time to sell Fedal?

Well, compadres, by now you’ve probably experienced a wide range of US Open-related emotions. There were some great results (Petra, you’re a star), and some not so great results (ah… Simona?).

If you’re like me, you’ve probably rage traded 75% of your fantasytennisleague.com team and stared at the ‘delete team’ button for hours and hours as it got bigger and bigger.

But now that the dust has settled, and we look ahead to a quieter Game Week, it’s time for some composed thinking and long-term planning.

Before we look at some buy/sell candidates, just a note on trades: there are eight Game Weeks left on the season, and you should have anywhere from 10-20 trades left. If you’ve got less, that’s fine, it just means the margin of error in selection is greater. If you’ve got more than 20, you’re probably a sentimental owner who likes to give under-performing players second and third chances. Forget that! Trade, trade, trade…

Check out who is playing where in the coming weeks with our player calendar

ATP: Goodbye Roger Federer…

It’s not about who you can bring in, it’s about who you can sell. The ATP has a bye this week which means every player is off. But that’s not a bad thing, rather it’s is a great opportunity to make some cash.

It’s borderline sacrilegious to say, but trading Roger Federer ($22.02m) and Rafael Nadal ($19.28m) has some merit. The legends went big again in Game Week 29 and are set to increase their already hefty price tag. Their next tournament is likely to be the China Open in October, so trading now will allow you the flexibility to move other pieces around.

Marin Cilic ($13.85) is another one I’d sell. If you take out Wimbledon, Cilic has only gone above 70 fantasy points once. At his premium price that’s unacceptable. It’s also disappointing he wasn’t able to take advantage of the weaker draw in New York.

If you’ve got Roberto Bautista Agut ($9.16m), Lucas Pouille ($6.21m) or David Goffin ($6.19), stash them on your bench. They all play immediately after the bye and did nothing during the US Open to suggest a form slump. Especially Pouille, who scored a season-high 71 fantasy points.

WTA: …Hello Naomi Osaka!

Remember Samantha Stosur ($8.14)? The Aussie is scheduled to play in the next three Game Weeks, but she’s been down on form all year, isn’t cheap and has a nagging wrist injury. Stay away.

Naomi Osaka ($4.13m) is one to bring in. The 19-year-old is coming off her best Game Week (38 points), is cheap and plays two out of the next three weeks in her home country. Lucie Safarova ($7.87m) is another woman that had a good showing in New York and plays next week.

If you’re one of the 13% of owners who own Eugenie Bouchard ($3.28m), I feel your pain, but don’t trade her. The out-of-form Canadian plays the next two weeks and she’s not taking up a lot of your cap anyway.

Elina Svitolina ($14.29) is one to trade. The world No. 4 has been great value all year but isn’t scheduled for any tournaments in the next three weeks. Petra Kvitova ($6.39m) would be a good trade down option but if you don’t have Garbine Muguruza ($13.14) or Karolina Pliskova ($10.98) use the money to get them in. All three will miss next week but play the following two.

Finally, Jennifer Brady ($2.44) is a name worth considering. She made the fourth round at the US Open and will look to continue that form in Quebec this week. More importantly, she’s cheap.

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Splitting Hairs

• Naomi Osaka or Jennifer Brady? Osaka
• Lucie Safarova or Samantha Stosur? Safarova
• Shuai Zhang or Eugenie Bouchard? Zhang
• Trade out Federer or Nadal? Federer
• Trade out Cilic or Isner? Cilic
• Trade out Svitolina or V.Williams? Williams

Buy/Sell

Buy: Lucie Safarova ($7.87m) – after a slow patch in the middle she appears to be building again.

Sell: Grigor Dimitrov ($8.38m) – burned us bad and doesn’t play for three weeks. Can always get him back later.