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Tuesday, September 10, 2019

2019 Fantasy Tennis Schedule

I am posting here the new Fantasy Tennis Schedule starting this year.  All the fantasy draws and pairings will be based on the rankings the week after as indicated in each of the events. 

This will apply in 2019 and onwards.

The Europa Cup (28 Europe and 4 African players) (men and women) - after Australian Open

Mixed Doubles World Championships- after French Open

Men's Doubles World Championships - after French Open

Women's Doubles World Championships - after French Open

The Americas Cup (North and South America) (men and women) - after Wimbledon

The Australasia Cup (Australia and Asia) (men and women) - after US Open

Year-End Women's Championships (Top 8) - last week of October

Year-End Men's Championships (Top 8) - last week of October

World Cup Men's Tennis (top 16 teams) - 1st week of December

World Cup Women's Tennis (top 16 teams)  - 1st week of December

Top 32 Teams for Mens' World Cup Tennis 2019


Here are the 32 teams qualified to participate in the 2019 Men's World Cup Tennis (after the US Open) -

#1 SPAIN 47
     Rafael Nadal
     Roberto Bautista Agut
     Fernando Verdasco     

#2 RUSSIA 51
     Daniil Medvedev
     Karen Khachanov
     Andrey Rublev

#3 FRANCE 61
     Gael Monfils
     Lucas Pouille
     Benoit Paire

#4 SERBIA 70
     Novak Djokovic
     Dusan Lajovic
     Laslo Djere

#5 ITALY 76
     Fabio Fognini
     Matteo Berrettini
     Lorenzo Sonego

#6 CANADA 78
     Felix Auger-Aliassime
     Milos Raonic
     Denis Shapovalov

#7 UNITED STATES 93
     John Isner
     Taylor Fritz
     Frances Tiafoe

#8 ARGENTINA 94
     Diego Schwartzman
     Guido Pella
     Juan Ignacio Londero     

#9 AUSTRALIA 111
       Alex de Minaur
       Jordan Thompson
       Nick Kyrgios

#10 CROATIA 121
     Borna Coric
     Marin Cilic
     Ivo Karlovic

#11 GERMANY 124
     Alexander Zverev
     Jan-Lennard Struff
     Philipp Kohlscreiber

#12 SWITZERLAND 132
     Roger Federer
     Stan Wawrinka
     Henri Laaksonen
       
#13 GREAT BRITAIN 147
       Kyle Edmund
       Daniel Evans
       Cameron Norrie
       
#14 JAPAN 200
     Kei Nishikori
     Yoshihito Nishioka
     Taro Daniel

#15 AUSTRIA 288
       Dominic Thiem
       Dennis Novak
       Sebastian Ofner

#16 SLOVAKIA 321
       Martin Klizan
       Andrej Martin
       Norbert Gombos
       
#17 KAZAKHSTAN 342
       Mikhail Kukushkin
       Alexander Bublik
       Dmitry Popko

#18 CHILE 348
       Christian Garin
       Nicolas Jarry
       Alejandro Tabilo

#19 BELGIUM 358
       David Goffin
       Kimmer Coppejans
       Arthur de Greef

#20 PORTUGAL 366
       Joao Sousa
       Pedro Sousa
       Joao Domingues

#21 CZECH REPUBLIC 379
       Tomas Berdych
       Lukas Rosol
       Jiri Vesely

#22 SLOVENIA 434
       Aljaz Bedene
       Blaz Rola
       Blaz Kavcic     

#23 INDIA 435
       Prajnesh Gunneswaran
       Ramkumar Ramanathan
       Sumit Nagal

#24 SOUTH KOREA 439
       Soonwoo Kwon
       Hyeon Chung
       Duckhee Lee
   
#25 BRAZIL 494
       Thiago Monteiro
       Rogerio Dutra Silva
       Thomaz Bellucci

#26 SWEDEN 502
       Mikael Ymer
       Elias Ymer
       Markuss Eriksson

#27 BELARUS 551
       Egor Geramisov
       Ilya Ivashka
       Uladzimir Ignatik

#28 HUNGARY 575
       Marton Fucsovics
       Attila Balazs
       Mate Valkusz

#29 NETHERLANDS 635
       Robin Haase
       Tallon Griekspoor
       Thiemo de Bakker       

#30 CHINESE TAIPEI 655
       Jason Jung
       Tung-Lin Wu
       Tsung-Hua Yang

#31 CHINA 735
       Zhe Li
       Yan Bai
       Zhizhen Zhang

#32 POLAND 721
      Hubert Hurkacz
      Kamil Majchrzak
      Daniel Michalski

******************************************************************* 

#33 ECUADOR 768
      
#34 BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA 782
      
#35 SOUTH AFRICA 812
         
#36 COLOMBIA 848

#37 BULGARIA 876

#38 TUNISIA 916

#39 UZBEKISTAN 927

#40 ROMANIA 972

#41 UKRAINE 989

#42 EGYPT 1021




#43 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 1070




       


     
     

Monday, September 9, 2019

Top 32 Teams for 2019 Women's World Cup Tennis


Here are the top 32 country teams competing in the revamped 2019 Women's World Cup, after the US Open.


#1 CZECH REPUBLIC 26

Karolina Pliskova
Petra Kvitova
Marketa Vondrousova

#2 UNITED STATES 27

Serena Williams 
Madison Keys 
Sloane Stephens 

#3 UKRAINE 77
Elina Svitolina
Dayana Yastremska 
Lesia Tsurenko 

#4 CHINA 90
Wang Qiang 
Zhang Shuai
Zheng Saisai 

#5 BELARUS 100
Aryna Sabalenka 
Victoria Azarenka
Aliaksandra Sasnovich 

#6 GERMANY 123
Angelique Kerber
Julia Goerges
Tatjana Maria

#7 RUSSIA 130
Daria Kasatkina 
Ekaterina Alexandrova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 

#8 SPAIN 141
Garbine Muguruza 
Carla Suarez Navarro 
Sara Sorribes Tormo

#9 AUSTRALIA 143
Ashleigh Barty 
Ajla Tomljanovic
Astra Sharma

#10 FRANCE 145
Caroline Garcia 
Kristina Mladenovic 
Alize Cornet 

#11 SWITZERLAND 147
Belinda Bencic 
Jil Teichmann
Viktorija Golubic 

#12 KAZAKHSTAN 188
Yulia Putintseva 
Elena Rybakina
Zarina Diyas 

#13 ROMANIA 201
Simona Halep
Irina-Camelia Begu
Monica Niculescu

#14 BELGIUM 204
Elise Mertens 
Alison Van Uytvanck
Kirsten Flipkens

#15 SLOVAKIA 221

Viktoria Kuzmova
Dominika Cibulkova 
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 

#16 SLOVENIA 230

Polona Hercog 
Tamara Zidansek 
Kaja Juvan

#17 CROATIA 230
Petra Martic 
Donna Vekic
Tereza Mrdeza

#18 POLAND 234
Iga Swiatek
Magda Linette 
Katarzyna Kawa

#19 JAPAN 254
Naomi Osaka
Misaki Doi
Nao Hibino 

#20 GREAT BRITAIN 256
Johanna Konta 
Heather Watson 
Harriet Dart

#21 NETHERLANDS 269

Kiki Bertens 
Arantxa Rus 
Bibiane Schoofs

#22 LATVIA 293
Anastasija Sevastova 
Jelena Ostapenko 
Diana Marcinkevica

#23 ITALY 321
Camila Giorgi 
Jasmine Paolini
Giula Gatto-Monticone

#24 CANADA 324
Bianca Andreescu 
Eugenie Bouchard 
Rebecca Marino 

#25 SERBIA 355
Ivana Jorovic
Aleksandra Krunic 
Natalija Kostic

#26 HUNGARY 519
Timea Babos 
Anna Bondar
Fanny Stollar 

#27 GREECE 531
Maria Sakkari 
Valentini Grammatikopolou
Despina Papamichail

#28 SWEDEN 558
Rebecca Peterson 
Johanna Larsson 
Mirjam Bjorklund 

#29 CHINESE-TAIPEI 574
Su-Wei Hsieh 
En-Shuo Liang 
Hua-Chen Lee

#30 BULGARIA 625
Viktoriya Tomova 
Isabella Shinikova
Elitsa Kostova 

#31 TURKEY 682

Pemra Ozgen 
Cagla Buyukcakay 
Ipek Soylu

#32 BRAZIL 709

Beatriz Haddad Maia
Gabriela Ce
Carolina Alves

*****************************************************************************

SOUTH KOREA 781

THAILAND 804

ESTONIA 805

GEORGIA 852

INDIA 937


MEXICO 992

AUSTRIA 1022

ARGENTINA 1038

ISRAEL 1060

CHILE 1121

DENMARK 1241

COLOMBIA 1309


NORWAY 1333

EGYPT 1348

UZBEKISTAN 1548

HONG KONG - 1627

Sunday, September 1, 2019

My Picks for the 2019 US Open Women's Singles Title: Belinda Bencic


With Kiki Bertens out in the 3R, Belinda Bencic steps up to the plate, in a draw that may still have some revolving doors as the days pass by.

Naomi Osaka is in this side of the draw but she has a 0-3 H2H with Belinda Bencic, and that's a bit of a big psychological thing to shake off.

It's actually 1-3 but in their last three matches, Osaka lost to Bencic. And sometimes, the H2H comes true.

In a way, it is Bencic's game to lose as she is also favored to win over Julia Goerges who beat Bertens yesterday.

Anyhow, it would be great for Swiss tennis again, especially it's women side if Bencic reaches the semi's. She has already reached the QFs here before in 2014.

Let's see how it plays out later today.

Saturday, August 31, 2019

My Picks for the 2019 US Open Women's Singles - Serena Williams


Ten grand slam competitions have gone by and Serena Williams hasn't won any new grand slam titles. Not that she needs to anymore, she already has 24 of it. It's just that we're not used to her having a long streak of time pass before she snags at least another slam.

Even with that telling statistic, she has reached 3 finals out of those ten grand slams and once again, here in NY, probably her strongest slam, she should be able to reach her 12 semi-final appearance here without any hitch.

She's already in the fourth round and only Ashleigh Barty can possibly prevent her from going deeper. The draw now has opened wide and Elina Svitolina looks like her most likely opponent in the semi's. In the finals, for now, it's either Bertens or Andreescu.

From those names, only Barty is the one with the grand slam pedigree. As for Osaka, she still has some players on her side of the draw that has a winning record over her, that's why she's not figuring well in this year's picks.

My Picks for the 2019 US Open Women's Single Title: Bianca Andreescu


Canadian Bianca Andreescu has been making waves in the WTA tour this summer and this has now extended to this year's US Open.

With Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova both out of the US Open this early, it makes her the next highest ranked player in her side of the draw and the one with the best H2H against all the other players.

Also, it makes her the player with the best H2H on the upper half of the draw, having a 1-0 H2H with Kiki Bertens, making her a good pick for the finals.

Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff is still on her side of the draw though but on paper, both have other opponents which have beaten them before, that is why Bianca is such in an enviable position, at least on paper.

In reality, she has only reached as far as the 2R in a grand slam, and this is the first time she has reached the 3R. She will meet former champion Caroline Wozniacki whom she has a winning record over, so it would be interesting to know if she can translate all this potential into reality.

If she doesn't, the upper side of the draw is so wide open, I wouldn't be surprised if Coco Gauff goes all the way to the finals!



Friday, August 30, 2019

My Picks for the 2019 US Open Women's Singles Titles: Elina Svitolina


It has been a great year for Elina Svitolina, winning the WTA Year End Championships for 2018, and getting into the semifinals of Wimbledon and the QF of the Australian Open.

In a relatively tough draw, she has the best H2H beating out Karolina Pliskova, in a surface where Karolina is more of a favorite.

She has been to the 4R here in Flushing Meadows for the past two years. This year, she is expected to reach the SFs.

Aside from Pliskova, Madison Keys is the only other possible player that should block her path.

Once she reaches the SFs, Serena looms large, while either Bertens or Halep are possible final opponents.

I would rank her #3 and a dark horse behind Serena and Simona for this year's title, but she does have the pedigree to win her first grand slam.

With her rank and prowess, she is slowly becoming one of those women next in line for a maiden grand slam.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

My Picks for the 2019 US Open Women's Singles Title - Simona Halep


Of all the players in the women's draw right now, Simona Halep is the one I admire the most. I've seen her rise in the ranks from when she was just in the 80s to the point where she reached #1 in the rankings and won her first grand slam title after three tries.

Her victory at Wimbledon last month showed how much she's matured mentally - and if she continues to maintain that here in NY, she should be able to snag her first US Open title.

And the draw is helping her. Her only possible tough opponents are Bianca Andreescu and Alison Riske, players she should be able to handle, even though Andreescu is on a roll.

In the semi's, she might meet Kiki Bertens, In the finals, Serena is looming once again, but we all know she can handle Serena already.

A rematch revenge final for Serena? Well, that could certainly bring in the crowds.

My Picks for the 2019 US Open Women's Title: Kiki Bertens


Kiki Bertens comes in as a surprise pick to win this year's US Open title in her side of the draw. I say that because statistically, she has only reached as far as the 3rd round here.
However, with the draw she's been given, she has a good chance of reaching the semi-finals, having the best H2H among the other players in her draw, including defending champion, Naomi Osaka.
She has reached the SF of the French Open in 2016 and the QFs in Wimbledon in 2014 and 2018, so she can reach deep in a grand slam if the stars align.
She does have a formidable group of possible opponents before she reaches the SF stage and it includes Pavlyuchenkova, Goerges, Vekic, and Bencic. She may even meet Naomi Osaka in a latter round if Osaka gets through hers.
With Bertens in the helm, this is an open wide draw and if Bertens and Osaka fail to live up to the expectations, I wouldn't be surprised if another woman takes the semi-final slot.
That has been happening a lot lately in women's grand slams. The gap between the #7player and a #70 player has become only a sliver

My Pick for the 2019 US Open Men's Singles Title: Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal is the other strong player with the best possibility of winning this year's US Open men's singles title.

He last won it in 2017, reached the semi's last year and is now rewarded with a relatively easy draw which should easily pave his way to a possible final meeting with Roger or Novak. He's lucky that in the Big 3, the other 2 are on the opposite side of the draw.

For his semi's Gael Monfils is the player he will most likely meet.

He does have some very dangerous opponents in his side of the draw - Alexander Zverev, Marin Cilic and Fernando Verdasco - all capable of beating him - if they run faster and swat the ball consistently thru five long sets - because Nadal rarely gives up. He doesn't show up in court unless he's really physically fit.

He already has three US Open titles. This is his best chance of snagging his fourth.