Fantasy Tennis League: Captain’s Corner Week 34

We’ve got four upcoming tournaments–Moscow, Luxembourg, Stockholm, Antwerp–and the choices for captain aren’t as clear-cut as Game Week 33. Let’s take a look at the best five options.

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Maria Sharapova

I originally had Svetlana Kuznetsova in this spot but since she elected not to defend her Kremlin Cup title, I’m confident Sharapova can take advantage of the relatively weak field–as she has been doing in Tianjin–and win the tournament. The former world No.1 has been moving exceptionally well. Surprisingly, Sharapova has never won the Kremlin Cup despite it being one of the biggest tournaments in her home country. She will be hungry and confident on the back of some near-flawless tennis in China.

David Goffin

The Belgian lost to Gilles Simon in the first round in Shanghai but before had won 88% of his matches since the September. His success has come against much weaker opponents, something that isn’t likely to change in his hometown Belgium; the second highest ranked player is Nick Kyrgios, who has had to undergo another round of scrutiny and may not be entirely focused.

Pablo Carreno Busta

The Spaniard is the defending champion in Moscow and would be licking his lips at the weak draw. The next highest seed is Albert Ramos Viñolas and after that it’s world No. 29 Adrian Mannardino. The only match Busta has played since his semifinal at the US Open is a bad loss in Beijing to Steve Darcis. Given he hadn’t played for four weeks, I would view that as dusting off the cobwebs.

Juan Martin del Potro

The Tower of Tandil is coming off an impressive win against Alexander Zverev and since September hasn’t had a bad loss. Delpo is also well rested and is playing in a tournament that he won last year. His main opposition is Grigor Dimitrov and Kevin Anderson, two players he boats a combined 11-3 record against.

Grigor Dimitrov

Dimitrov is frustratingly inconsistent but he’s still the highest ranked player competing in a tournament where his main competitors are 29 and 31-years-old, injury prone and in the final month of what’s been a grueling year. At 26-years-old, this is purely a bet that the Bulgarian will be faster and fitter than his opposition.