Fantasy Tennis Insider: picking for Paris

Well, compadres, we’ve got two massive tournaments upcoming. With a Masters 1000 in Paris and a Premier 5 in Zhuhai, this is probably your last chance to make a big climb in the rankings. The catch is, especially on the women’s side, there are limited reliable players on offer.

So who should you pick? Let’s take a look…

Follow @FTL_Insider for Fantasy Tennis-related stats, tips and news

ATP: Picking for Paris

To-date, there has been no news on whether Rafael Nadal will play, so follow me for updates.

With three Masters 1000s for Roger Federer in 2017, it’s hard not to think he’ll pick up another.

Jo-Wilfred Tsonga is turning in some nice form with a title in Antwerp. The Frenchman will be playing in his home country and has form in the tournament with a final in 2011. He will also need a good showing in Paris to improve his chances for the ATP Finals in London.

John Isner made the final in Paris last year and also needs a good tournament to make the ATP Finals. Since September, Isner has been beating the players he should beat, but has been falling easily to the more challenging opponents.

Juan Martin del Potro is a unique option that has excellent form, however, has never won a Masters 1000 trophy. The Tower of Tandil has lost three matches in his last fourteen.

Alexander Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov are both very good options.

TL;DR: Fedal, Zverev and del Potro in that order are your best options.

Related: Quiz! How well do you know your WTA Finalists?

WTA: Fantasy Tennis whack-a-mole

This is the last week you will play any women in your team and wow, what a week to end on. The WTA Elite Trophy field is packed with inconsistent players that are capable of winning Grand Slams one week, and bombing in the first-round of a Premier 5 the next.

The event is a round robin split into four groups of three. Each player is guaranteed at least two matches, and then the winner will progress to a semifinal.

As it did with the WTA Finals, the draw will largely impact my preference of players, but to give you an idea of who the best options are, let’s rank them in descending order:

12. Elena Vesnina. If you take out Vesnina’s 132 points in Game Week 7, the Russian hasn’t scored above 40 points and is averaging 20 on the year. No reason to pick her whatsoever.

11. Kristina Mladenovic. Kiki’s knee is either much sorer than she’s letting on, or she’s just in a special kind of rut. With nine straight losses, there’s no way you can trust her in your team.

10. Anastasija Sevastova. The Latvian is averaging 28 Fantasy Tennis points from her last five Game Weeks and nine in her last three. That’s poor form, and with the tougher competition, I can’t see it improving. 

9. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Pavlyuchenkova is at her best when the competition is diluted. This is not one of those weeks.

8. Angelique Kerber. The former world No.1 has scored above 25 Fantasy Tennis points once in the past seven Game Weeks and is averaged 12 in her last three.

7. Peng Shuai. Peng has dropped below 20 points just once in her past six matches, which is more than you can say for the rest of this inconsistent group of players. She also has five scores above 40. Question marks around her performances against the best competition.

6. Sloane Stephens. After her US Open triumph, Sloane has scored 2.9 and 0.8. In the three weeks before that, she was averaging 90.5. It’s a roll of the dice but I think you have to back in the talent.

5. Magdalena Rybarikova. The Slovakian may be fresh as she hasn’t played anywhere near as much as her opponents. I didn’t like what I saw from her final in Linz, though (walloped by Strycova).

4. Julia Goerges. Goerges is coming off an impressive title in Moscow. She has made four WTA finals this year and has had six scores about 40.

3. Coco Vandeweghe. At a glance, CoCo’s stats aren’t great – but what’s interesting is the American’s performances against the top competition. She has made two semifinals in Grand Slams and seems to play her best when there are real stakes. 

2. Ash Barty. Barty has excellent form against the elite players: her past four wins have come against opponents in the top 15 and she also beat Venus Williams and Garbine Muguruza earlier this year. If you take out Game Week 32 she is averaging 47 Fantasy Tennis points.

1. Barbora Strycova. Strycova has one of the better rolling averages from the field; she is averaging 50 from her last three Game Weeks including a title over Rybarikova in Linz. 

Splitting Hairs

• Ash Barty or Grigor Dimitrov? Dimitrov
• Barbora Strycova or John Isner? Strycova
• Juan Martin del Potro or Sloane Stephens? del Potro
• Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal? Both, but Federer
• Angelique Kerber or Jo-Wilfred Tsonga? Tsonga