Fantasy tennis picks for Fanto’s Wimbledon contests

The strawberries and cream season is upon us, so we can’t think of a better way of whetting the appetite than getting stuck into a fantasy tennis contest. In How to play Fantasy Wimbledon, you might recall that we pointed out some of the key elements to watch out for in terms of timings but now that all the draw information is available, it is time to set about the player selection process itself.

In Fanto’s Wimbledon contests you are required to select at least 2 players from each sex in your 8 player line-up and there is obviously a temptation to pack your roster with male players due to the fact that they play best-of-five sets, giving them a better chance of accumulating bonus points for sets won.

However, unseeded players can really score heavily under the Fanto scoring system if they go deep in the tournament, so when we analyse the performance of this player bracket for men versus women at previous championships, it is the latter group that come out smelling of roses.

Russia’s Elena Vesnina accomplished the feat in 2016, so we’re going to opt for 2 unseeded players in the Ladies’ Singles. Estonian Anett Kontaveit is having a breakthrough season, while Victoria Azarenko bids to become the 5th ever mother to claim Wimbledon glory and is reported to be fitter than ever.

Czech duo Petra Kvitová and Karolína Plíšková look to be in great shape and are easy picks, while it would complete a remarkable story for the former if she could go all the way, having been stabbed during an attempted burglary at her home earlier in the year.

Marin Čilić is also included, while Grigor Dimitrov, a former Junior Wimbledon Champion, who also went on to reach the 2014 semi-finals at the All England Club is more of a speculative choice.

Even though he was given a bit of a lesson by Roger Federer in the Final at Halle, the emerging talent of Alexander Zverev also gets the nod, leaving one of the Big 4 to complete our picks.

There are question marks over all 4 and Federer certainly wasn’t given any favours by the draw. Andy Murray has a few fitness concerns surrounding him, while a rejuvenated Rafa Nadal still needs to prove that he can cut it at the highest level on grass. We’re therefore going to take a chance on Novak Djokovic, fresh from his victory at Eastbourne, in the hope that he can rediscover the sort of form that made him the best player in the world.

Here’s our complete line-up: