US OPEN MAIN DRAW & DARK HORSE BREAKDOWN

 

I have attached the US Open Main Draw (FTL Version) and the Dark Horse Breakdown.  The Qualifying for both the Mens and Womens events were completed earlier today and as a result, the placement of the 32 Qualifiers and 3 Lucky Losers has been finalized.

 

Do not forget to select your Dark Horses for both the Mens and Womens events! Just a reminder that the US Open starts playing Round 1 Main Draw Matches on Sunday (August 24th)

 

If you want a copy, click on the link, US OPEN DRAWSOnce you do so, click on FILE, and scroll to MAKE A COPY, and call it whatever you want

Good Luck :)

Cincinnati results

 

(no sooner had Carlos and Iga got their trophies then they were catching the next flight to NY to take part in the mized doubles event!)

🎾 Cincinnati Open 2025 Recap

August 6–18 Lindner Family Tennis Center, Ohio

🔥 ATP: Alcaraz Claims Title in a Final That Fizzled

The much-anticipated clash between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner—their fourth final of the season after Rome, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon—ended in disappointment as Sinner was forced to retire after a lopsided first set, citing heat-related illness and fatigue. The match had promised fireworks but instead underscored the brutal toll of the Cincinnati conditions.

• Alcaraz’s path: Defeated an ailing Alexander Zverev in the semis, who was visibly struggling with illness.
• Sinner’s path: Took out surprise semifinalist Terence Atmane, who had stunned Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune after coming through qualifying.

The oppressive heat and humidity were a major storyline, with multiple players showing signs of physical distress throughout the week.

🇫🇷 Terence Atmane: Breakout Star

Ranked No. 136, the 23-year-old Frenchman Terence Atmane lit up the ATP draw:

• Beat Fritz in three sets
• Dominated Rune in straight sets
• Reached his first Masters 1000 semifinal

His fearless baseline aggression and composure under pressure made him one of the most talked-about players of the week.

👑 WTA: Swiatek Reigns Again

Iga Swiatek continued her hardcourt dominance, lifting her 24th career title and third of the season by defeating Jasmine Paolini in the final. She didn’t drop a set all week, including a thrilling semifinal win over Elena Rybakina.

• Swiatek vs. Rybakina: A high-quality semi that showcased Swiatek’s defensive brilliance and Rybakina’s serving power.
• Paolini’s run: Took out Coco Gauff in the quarters and Veronika Kudermetova in the semis, but fell to Swiatek for the sixth time in their head-to-head.

• Coco Gauff: Lost to Paolini, extending a rough patch on hard courts.
• Jessica Pegula: Suffered a surprise early exit to Magda Linette, continuing her post-Wimbledon slump.
• Aryna Sabalenka: The defending US Open champ was blown off court by Rybakina, 6–1, 6–4, in the quarters.

Here is the global FTL league table for the game week.

Congrats to Johnatton Santos and his team SRN2025 who topped the Cincy table seeing off spirited competion in the shape of 2025 Battle and Rydal 250 Sponsor Exemption.

Here is a breakdown of the head to head battle for the level 2 prize between Johnatton and Eric and Michael.  

Both had pretty similar teams but crucially Johnatton had a key differential in the shape of Paolini who ensured that he had all four finalists for this event.  Rydal had Zverev who also had another great tournament but crucially his defeat in the semi finals meant he scored 20 points less than Paolini.  

Tosh, Maire and Matt L make up the top 5 in the level 2 standings.

Congrats to all of you on a terrific game week.

In the 2nd half masters Rick topped the table for this week with Yulia's Holy Crud Muffins in 2nd place.

Canadian Open results

 

🎾 Rogers Cup 2025 Summary

Montreal (WTA) & Toronto (ATP)
July 26 – August 7, 2025

🇨🇦 Victoria Mboko’s Historic Triumph in Montreal

The story of the tournament—and perhaps the season—was Victoria Mboko, the 18-year-old Canadian who electrified home crowds with a record-shattering run to her first WTA 1000 title. Mboko defeated four Grand Slam champions en route to the trophy, including Naomi Osaka in a nail-biting final. Her matches were defined by grit, clutch play, and a fearless attacking style that won over fans across both host cities.

Even in Toronto, the crowd erupted when news of her win broke—causing a moment of confusion for men's finalists Ben Shelton and Karen Khachanov, who were still battling it out on court.

🎾 Naomi Osaka’s Return to Form

After months of struggling to find rhythm post-comeback, Naomi Osaka surged through the draw in Montreal, defeating top seeds and showing glimpses of her championship pedigree. Her run to the final marked her first WTA 1000 final since 2021, and her composure under pressure suggests she’s ready to rejoin the elite.

💥 Upsets and Absences

• Clara Tauson stunned Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek early in the tournament, continuing her breakout season with aggressive baseline play and tactical maturity.
• Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula both exited early, extending a worrying trend of poor form in big events.
• Aryna Sabalenka was notably absent from the women’s draw, citing scheduling and recovery needs.

On the men’s side:

• Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz skipped Toronto, leaving the field wide open.
• Their absence paved the way for a surprise final between Ben Shelton and Karen Khachanov.

🔥 Ben Shelton’s Breakthrough in Toronto

In a tournament full of twists, Ben Shelton emerged as the new force in men’s tennis. He defeated Taylor Fritz in the semis and then outlasted Karen Khachanov in a high-octane final to claim his first Masters 1000 title. Shelton’s explosive serve and fearless court coverage have now cemented him as a top-tier contender heading into the US Open.

Meanwhile, Khachanov continued his strong season, highlighted by a statement win over Alexander Zverev in the semis.

💰 Prize Money Highlights

• Men’s Champion (Shelton): $1,124,380
• Women’s Champion (Mboko): $752,275

🧠 Final Thoughts

The 2025 Rogers Cup was a showcase of emerging talent, shifting power dynamics, and emotional resonance—especially for Canadian fans. With Mboko’s rise, Osaka’s resurgence, and Shelton’s ascension, the tennis world heads into the US Open with new storylines and fresh contenders.

 

Here is the Global Leaderboard for the week

It was certainly a game week for dark horse picks with both winners and runner up Osaka being dark horse eligible.  Needless to say the strongest teams in the game week had two of the three in their team.

Congratulations to Adnan Akhtar who was top of the pile for this game week.  Lets take a look at the head to head between Adnan and Andrea Russo who also had a terrific week.

Adnan actually only had one high scoring dark horse in the shape of Montreal winner Mboko but that didn't matter because he had Ben Shelton in his starting 8 as well as Toronto runner up Khachanov.  He also had semi finalists Zverev, Fritz and Rybakina.   Pegula and mens's DH Shapovalov were really the only players in his team to flop.

Andrea also had a terrific team opting for Shelton as a DH alongside Mboko.  He also had men's runner up Khachanov and Montreal semi finalist Rybakina with decent supporting roles from Keys and Popyrin.

Gregsj (Greg), jbatta44 (Jamie) and AceCream (Sonja) made up the top 5 in the global league for this week.

Here is the 2nd half masters leaderboard for the week

CINCINNATI OPEN - DRAWS AND DARK HORSE BREAKDOWN

 

I have attached the Cincinnati Open Main Draw (FTL Version) and the Dark Horse Breakdown.  The Qualifying for both the Mens and Womens events should be completed later tonight.  If this is the case, the Qualifier placement will be updated before the start of the Main Draw matches.  There is the possibility though that some of the Qualifying matches will not be completed before the end of the day (at least half of the 1st Round of Qualifying wasn't completed yesterday, so many players are looking at playing 2 matches today)

 

Plz note that IF Naomi Osaka or Victoria Mboko win their SemiFinal matches later today in Montreal, they will receive a R1 Performance Bye, but if they lose, they will end up having to play a Qualifier/Lucky Loser in Round 1.

 

Do not forget to select your Dark Horses for both the Mens and Womens events! and just a reminder that the Cincinnait Open starts playing Round 1 Main Draw Matches on Thursday (August 7th)

 

If you want a copy, click on the link, CINCI OPEN DRAWS Once you do so, click on FILE, and scroll to MAKE A COPY, and call it whatever you want

Good Luck :)

Game Week 22 and FTL Cup

The Cincinnati Open starts tomorrow folks so remember to select your sides for lockout!

The return of Sinner and Alcaraz will no doubt bolster most teams in this game week but how is everyone feeling about the form of Jess Pegula and Coco Gauff.

Plenty of big players absent from the event as well including Djokovic, Draper and Cerundolo on the ATP side and Andreeva, Zheng and Badosa on the WTA side.

The FTL Cup returns in Cincinnati and we have now reached the Quarter Finals:

Good luck to our remaining contenders:

                    Vlad, Michael S & Eric, Sara, Antonela,  Mikhail,  David,  Dragan and Michael B.

 

GAMEWEEK21 RESULTS

Massive kuddos goes out to our winners this week - Alex De Minaur, Alexander Bublik, Luciano Darderi, Marie Bouzkova and Leylah Fernandez.

 

Alex De Minaur's victory this week in Washington was his 10th title of his career!  Its safe to say, of all his titles, this was easily the most unlikely.  On his way to the final, he played what was thought to be the match of the week in the R16 against Jiri Lehecka (7-6,6-7,6-4).   By the time the final was over, you realized that the Lehecka match was simply an appetizer for the main course against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.  As ADF looked for his maiden ATP Tour Level title, he led the 3rd set 5-2, and had a 30 love spot at 5-3 as he tried to serve it out and then all hell broke loose!!  Nerves got the best of Alejandro as he lost 4 straight points in horrific fashion (he hit multiple double faults and spewed 2 other unforced errors on simple rally balls) to break himself.  You had to wonder if ADF was going to crumble and lose the match 7-5, but instead, Alejandro did everything he could to get the break and win the match in the next service game.  In what felt like a 10 minute service game, ADF generated 3 break chances, but De Minaur somehow managed to hold serve.  In fact, one of the winners that Alex hit on BP/MP down was sooo close that the replay officials showed the mark on shot spot!   ADF did manage to win the service game with the match levelled at 5, but Alex quickly held serve to send the match to a 3rd set tiebreak, and then outplayed him in the breaker.  Now the real question, what do either of these players have left for the Toronto/Cinci Masters Double?!?!?

 

Alexander Bublik's victory this week in Kitzbuhel was his 7th title of his career and 3rd in his past 4 events?!?!?  For a player that's nickname has been Bubbles due to his bizarre n strange play over the years, he's showing some real consistency of late (minus that awful R1 loss at Wimbledon).  Its hard to imagine saying this, but the only question coming into Kitzbuhel was whether or not he was actually going to play.  With the North American Hard Court swing just a week away, was Bublik really going to play back to back clay court events?!?  This type of behaviour is something that you only see from your hardcore clay court specialists, soo most of us expected him to withdraw.  Well not only did Alexander show up, but he dominated as he won the title without losing a set.  He didn't have to play the highest level of competition (Tirante, Shevchenko, Van De Zandschulp and Cazaux), but it still felt rather emphatic as he won back to back clay court events.  Don't look now Alcaraz, but he's coming for your crown!  

 

Luciano Darderi's victory in Umag was his 4th title of his career and 3rd of the season!  Those 3 titles (all on the dirt) put him in some rare air!!  Just like Bublik, Darderi was able to win back to back titles after Wimbledon!  The only set he lost was to the young incredibly talented hometown hopeful, Dino Prizmic.  Otherwise, he beat Tseng, Ugo Carabelli, and Taberner in straights.  I'm curious to see if he can have some success on the hard courts for the rest of the season.  His game looks like it should be able to translate onto the surface, but it hasn't yet (he's 3-18 in the past 2 years on it)

 

Marie Bouzkova's hometown victory in Prague was only her 2nd title in her career!!  She seems like she's had a far better career to have only ever had 1 win coming into this event!  Marie had a far more adventurous run on her way to the title than either Bublik or Darderi, as she was forced to play 3 sets against Ann Li in the QF, and had to come back from 5-3 down (in the 2nd set) in the SF against an incredibly dangerous youngster (Tereza Valentova) and then beat Linda Noskova in 3 sets in the final.  It will be interesting to see if this helps Marie build some confidence and we see it parlay further into some big results in the North American Swing (just a warning, she's always played well in Mexico)

 

Leylah Fernandez's victory in Washington was not only her 4th title of her career but easily her biggest victory.  Leylah had a couple of massive wins on her way to the final (Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina) and then dominated Anna Kalinskaya in just over an hour in the final.  I'll be honest, I still have no idea how she beat Rybakina in the SF, as she was down a set and a break and Elena had multiple opportunities to take a 2 break lead.  Coming into the week, Leylah had a sub 500 win/loss record for the season, so this will be incredibly important for her confidence.  She's got a vicious draw in her hometown event in Montreal, so it will be curious to see if she can keep up this type of result!  She made the final at the US Open just a couple of years ago, so you have to wonder if this new found confidence might help aid in a similarly deep run there! (Personally i think the draw gods will have to help her)

 

In terms of FTL, the week was marred by withdrawals and Round 1 losses.  Its hard to imagine saying this but it felt acceptable if your team only had 2 or 3 of those Round 1 losses!! (Many of our top level managers had 4 of them!!)

 

Meanwhile, the winner of the GW, put up a ridiculous 510.508 points!! Value Picks 📈🤑 (The Commissioner) made many of us look silly as he had all 3 Mens Winners and a Finalist in Prague!  Beyond that, he only had 2 other SemiFinalists (Rybakina and Shelton) lol.  Just think, he could have been better as he had Andrey Rublev lose in Round 1.  He was sooo dominant that he won the week by 46 points and there were only 8 other managers (btw 2 of those managers are involved in the 2nd half Masters group) that were even within a 110 points of him!!!

 

I'd like to offer a huge kuddos to Michael Sommer and Eric Zoberman (Rydal Sponsors Exemption) who finished 2nd (and also won their FTL Cup matchup by dominating one of our admin).  He's also our first place winner for Option 2.  He wasn't as good as the Commissioner, but damn he was still real good as he had 2 winners (De Minaur, Bublik) a finalist (Noskova) and 2 SF's (Rybakina and Shelton).  If Pegs beats Leylah, he might have had a chance (thats a big if tho, as she needed another 50 points lol) to be our our GW winner.  

 

Mohaib (Dr. peRFect), Oli B (The Gravy Dinghies), and elle (hana kumatata) round out our top 5. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CANADA OPEN - DRAWS AND DARK HORSE BREAKDOWN

 

I have attached the Canada Open Main Draw (FTL Version) and the Dark Horse Breakdown.  The Qualifying for the Womens event was completed on Saturday July 26th, and as a result, the Qualifers have been added.  Sadly, a rain delay postponed the final 3 Qualifying Matches in Toronto, so the Qualifying for the Mens event won't be completed until tomorrow morning.  It does appear that the first Main Draw match will take place before the Mens Qualifying is completed, so we the Qualifier placement won't be known for the mens event.

 

Do not forget to select your Dark Horses for both the Mens and Womens events! and just a reminder that the Canadian Open starts playing Round 1 Main Draw Matches on Sunday (July 27th)

 

If you want a copy, click on the link, CANADA OPEN DRAWS Once you do so, click on FILE, and scroll to MAKE A COPY, and call it whatever you want

Good Luck :)