⭐ FTL Game Week 11 — Madrid Masters: When Dark Horses Became Headliners
Masters events and Slams always give us that delicious FTL twist: the dark horse picks. One man, one woman, each under 6.5 million, quietly tucked into your squad as potential chaos agents. Most weeks you’re hoping for a couple of wins, maybe 40 points if the stars align.
But every so often, FTL hands you a gem — a dark horse who can actually win the whole thing.
Game Week 11 was one of those weeks. On the women’s side: Marta Kostyuk, fresh off a clay title in Rouen. On the men’s side: Casper Ruud, underpriced after a poor hard‑court swing but back on his beloved clay.
Both looked like dream picks. One of them delivered in spectacular fashion.
🎾 WTA Madrid — Kostyuk’s Breakthrough Amid the Chaos
The women’s draw was absolute carnage.
Iga Swiatek fell victim to the Madrid bug and retired in Round 3.
Coco Gauff battled illness and still nearly beat Noskova before fading.
Elena Rybakina was stunned by a resurgent Anastasia Potapova.
And the shock of the week: Aryna Sabalenka losing to an inspired Hailey Baptiste, who kept finding magic whenever Aryna tried to close the door.
Through all that turbulence, Kostyuk looked like the one player who actually knew what she was doing.
Her supposed stumbling block was Round 3 vs Jess Pegula, but clay is Pegula’s least favourite terrain. Marta flattened her 6–1, 6–4, then powered past McNally and Noskova to reach the semis.
Her semi against Potapova was a rollercoaster — dominant first set, lost second, emphatic third — but she handled it like a player who finally believes she belongs at the top.
In the other half, Mirra Andreeva continued her clay‑court surge, tantrums and all. She toughed out Bondar in three and then ended Baptiste’s dream run.
The final had hype, but in truth, Kostyuk controlled it from start to finish, imposing her game and her presence. Straight sets, first WTA 1000 title, and a statement that she’s a genuine Roland Garros contender.
Just don’t expect her to be a dark horse ever again.
🎾 ATP Madrid — Sinner’s Reign Continues
With Carlos Alcaraz withdrawing and Novak Djokovic absent, the draw opened wide for the unstoppable Jannik Sinner, who seems intent on rewriting Masters 1000 history one week at a time.
He did get one early scare — Benjamin Bonzi nicking the first set in Round 2 — but Sinner quickly restored order.
Next came the rising Spanish sensation Rafael Jodar, who’s been tearing through the clay swing (Marrakech title, Barcelona semis). Sinner schooled him in the first set, but Jodar made the second competitive and showed he’s the real deal.
Then it was Arthur Fils, Barcelona champion and human highlight reel. But Sinner smothered him too, as if someone had turned the electricity off.
🔥 The Ruud Detour — and the Blockx Bombshell
In the bottom half, Casper Ruud looked every inch the clay titan again, cruising past Munar and ADF before surviving a spirited Stefanos Tsitsipas in Round 4.
But the story of the week wasn’t Ruud. It was Alexander Blockx.
The Belgian teenager quietly took out FAA and Cerúndolo, then produced the shock of the tournament: Blockx def. Ruud 6–4, 6–4.
A dark horse dream for many managers… just not this week. The silver lining? Ruud would be available again in Rome — and as you hinted, we all know how that turned out.
Blockx’s run ended in the semis against Alexander Zverev, who found his Madrid mojo just in time after shaky earlier rounds. He dispatched Cobolli and then Blockx with clinical efficiency.
But Zverev vs Sinner? That matchup feels like a foregone conclusion these days.
Sinner dismantled him 6–1, 6–2 in a final that looked more like a coronation than a contest, sealing his fourth straight Masters title and extending a run that’s starting to look historic.
Here is the Global Game Week table for Game Week 11.
He's back folks and he means business. Its been a stuttering start for Dragan Josifoski after his historic league and cup double in 2025 but his 2026 campaign is very much back on track after a cracking game week in Madrid. He was pushed all the way by Oli and the Gravy Shipwrecks however and ultimately there was less than 10 points between them.
Here is the head to head between the two top teams.
Both Dragan and Oli made most of the right choices this week and had all four finalists with Sinner as Captain and Kostyuk as a dark horse. In fact, from a line up point of view there was only one difference in their starting 10. Dragan had Machac and Oli had Iga who of course was a surprising early exit. Now of course Iga outscored Machac so how did Dragan win? It all came down to player positioning! While Oli had Gauff as a TP, Dragan had her as KP. And while Oli had Coboli as a dark horse, Dragan had him in his main team scoring additional points. And that's what made all the difference in the end!
Congrats to Dragan and Oli on a great week!
