Let’s get the superlatives out of the best way.
Within the injury-induced absence of Carlos Alcaraz, his solely equal on the summit of present-day males’s tennis, Jannik Sinner has been on a generational run. By turning into the primary Italian to win their nationwide open in 50 years final week in Rome, Sinner prolonged his profitable streak to 29 matches. He joined Novak Djokovic in making historical past, turning into solely the second participant to have gained every of the 9 Masters 1000 occasions.
Sinner has crushed anybody and everybody – together with Alcaraz in a ultimate on clay – who’ve come his method with a ruthlessness that means he’s razor sharp heading into the French Open, beginning Sunday. In Paris, he’s hoping to change into simply the eighth man in historical past to finish the Grand Slam (profitable every of the 4 Main tournaments) within the Open Period.
Whereas Alcaraz beat him to the feat on the Australian Open, turning into the youngest to take action, victory at Roland Garros will permit Sinner to pip him to what’s arguably a larger achievement of their sequence of one-upmanship. He’s aiming to change into solely the second participant, as soon as once more after Djokovic, to win every of the 14 most vital tournaments in a tennis calendar: the 9 Masters, the 4 Majors, and the year-end Finals. All on the ripe age of 24.
128 gamers, 1 winner 🏆
Who will go all the best way?#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/T2pXIaO4fC
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 22, 2026
The achievements are staggering; Sinner has already gone locations that eluded greats like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. But as he mounts his ascent to historical past on the French Open this fortnight, the thing of equal fascination is his stark lack of competitors.
In keeping with the pre-French Open rankings, Sinner is 9,000 factors forward of second seed Alexander Zverev. For context, profitable a Main awards 2,000 factors. It’s a gulf that illustrates Sinner’s dominance as a lot because it tells the story of a chasing pack that dithered and did not take their alternatives throughout the institution of the Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly.
The challengers
Think about his listing of challengers. Zverev is the nailed-on favorite to succeed in the ultimate by seeding and status alone, however his historical past of psychological fragility means that the stress of these expectations alone will likely be powerful to take care of. He additionally enters the event in detached type, having been hammered by Sinner of their final 9 matches.
Djokovic will invariably take some headlines and deserves a point out, particularly after his resounding victory over Sinner of their five-setter on the Australian Open this 12 months. However at 39, the Serb shouldn’t be way more than a part-timer who makes particular appearances on the Slams, usually nursing bodily points and hoping for a miracle. He has performed one match on clay this 12 months: a first-round defeat to the World No. 71.
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Go additional down the listing, and an much more unlikely set of challengers emerge. Plucky fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime appears to be having a profession revival after bursting onto the tour as a teen, however he has proven no indicators of Main-winning pedigree. The identical will be mentioned about fifth seed Ben Shelton, particularly on his weakest floor of clay. Daniil Medvedev might enter the dialog; he did push Sinner fairly laborious of their semifinal in Rome final week. However his aversion to the floor of clay has reached web meme-lore. He has additionally solely gained 4 matches within the final 5 Majors. Sinner’s compatriot Lorenzo Musetti might have been a sneaky decide, however accidents have stored him out of one other Main, as they’ve for the much-hyped Briton Jack Draper.
Look who’s there!
Bonjour @janniksin 🦊#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Z7JMgV9abY
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 21, 2026
Not since Djokovic in his pomp a decade in the past, or Nadal’s god-like aura going into Roland Garros within the 2000s, has the build-up round a Main been so centered on one participant. So, what if Sinner cracks? What if damage strikes on the fallacious time or he succumbs below the burden of creating historical past? Who’s greatest positioned to take benefit? To choose a traditional contender, all indicators level again to Djokovic: unquestionably an indictment of how weak the world’s present prime 10 are in case you take the 2 greatest gamers out of the reckoning.
There was excellent news and dangerous information for the Serb after Thursday’s draw. He won’t must face Sinner until the ultimate however has to fend off big-serving house favorite Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard within the first spherical, and in a possible rematch of the 2023 ultimate, may face Casper Ruud (who simply reached the Italian Open ultimate) within the fourth spherical.
Sinner has proven no indicators of faltering below stress. The circus-like environment that follows a Main will put him and his bid for historical past below the highlight, and in his present type, he stays overwhelmingly more likely to recover from the road. The query of ‘If not Sinner, then who?, nonetheless, might trigger all kinds of chaos.
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Jannik Sinner is making an attempt to change into the eighth participant to finish the Grand Slam in Paris. Extra considerably, although, he goals to change into solely the second participant in tennis historical past, after Novak Djokovic, to win every of the 14 most vital occasions on the tennis calendar: the 9 Masters 1000s, the 4 Majors, and the year-end ATP Finals.
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Sinner is on a 29-match profitable streak that started again in March in Indian Wells. In that point, he has picked up 5 trophies, on two totally different surfaces, all on the Masters 1000 stage.