Rather than naming a team that could be copied by many, I will post a list of players I love at their price (winners), players that are overpriced (unforced errors), and some underdogs that could be interchangeable in a couple of teams if you are in search of a low salary upset.
Winners
– Alex De Minaur ($10,400) – Tennys Sandgren struggled to play out best of 3 set matches last week, so I don’t see things improving greatly here for him against a player who covers the court as well as anyone. Happy to base a team around the use of Alex, who looks just as capable of a decent score as the players with a salary higher than him.
– Salvatore Caruso ($8,300) – With the conditions a little warmer today, I like Caruso to grind down Henri Laaksonen over the longer format. A nice mid-range price to include in teams today.
– Lin Zhu ($8,000) – Whitney Osuigwe was a little fortunate with her qualifying run, and looked off the level slightly last week against Potapova in the lead-up. This match is squarely on Zhu’s racquet.
Unforced Errors
– Karen Khachanov ($10,600) – Seems to be a steep price when you get the feeling that he isn’t quite as suited to the faster conditions at Melbourne Park this week. I am not suggesting Vukic can cause an upset here, I just feel the salary for Khachanov looks a little too steep in the conditions. Needs time on his forehand wing to hit well, and these conditions limit that somewhat.
Upset Alert
– Alexei Popyrin ($5,200) – Is it just me that finds it incredibly hard to jump in and support David Goffin at a short price today. I guess it all depends on how you rate the effort to reach the Antalya semi final, a step up on his form to end 2020. Popyrin has reported to have been very happy with his pre-season and is looking to make the most of this wildcard opportuntiy. Playing in the heat of the day off not a lot of tennis recently will also make things a little tougher for Goffin.
As always, if you have any questions about any specific players, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via Twitter.