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Let’s get the superlatives out of the way.
In the injury-induced absence of Carlos Alcaraz, his only equal at the summit of present-day men’s tennis, Jannik Sinner has been on a generational run. By becoming the first Italian to win their national open in 50 years last week in Rome, Sinner extended his winning streak to 29 matches. He joined Novak Djokovic in making history, becoming only the second player to have won each of the nine Masters 1000 events.
Sinner has beaten anyone and everyone – including Alcaraz in a final on clay – who have come his way with a ruthlessness that suggests he is razor sharp heading into the French Open, starting Sunday. In Paris, he is hoping to become just the eighth man in history to complete the Grand Slam (winning each of the four Major tournaments) in the Open Era.
While Alcaraz beat him to the feat at the Australian Open, becoming the youngest to do so, victory at Roland Garros will allow Sinner to pip him to what is arguably a greater achievement in their series of one-upmanship. He is aiming to become only the second player, once again after Djokovic, to win each of the 14 most significant tournaments in a tennis calendar: the nine Masters, the four Majors, and the year-end Finals. All at the ripe age of 24.
128 players, 1 winner 🏆
Who will go all the way?#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/T2pXIaO4fC
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 22, 2026
The achievements are staggering; Sinner has already gone places that eluded greats like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Yet as he mounts his ascent to history at the French Open this fortnight, the object of equal fascination is his stark lack of competition.
According to the pre-French Open rankings, Sinner is 9,000 points ahead of second seed Alexander Zverev. For context, winning a Major awards 2,000 points. It is a gulf that illustrates Sinner’s dominance as much as it tells the story of a chasing pack that dithered and failed to take their opportunities during the establishment of the Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly.
The challengers
Consider his list of challengers. Zverev is the nailed-on favourite to reach the final by seeding and prestige alone, but his history of mental fragility suggests that the pressure of those expectations alone will be tough to deal with. He also enters the tournament in indifferent form, having been hammered by Sinner in their last nine matches.
Djokovic will invariably take some headlines and deserves a mention, especially after his resounding victory over Sinner in their five-setter at the Australian Open this year. But at 39, the Serb is not much more than a part-timer who makes special appearances at the Slams, often nursing physical issues and hoping for a miracle. He has played one match on clay this year: a first-round defeat to the World No. 71.
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Go further down the list, and an even more unlikely set of challengers emerge. Plucky fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime seems to be having a career revival after bursting onto the tour as a teenager, but he has shown no signs of Major-winning pedigree. The same can be said about fifth seed Ben Shelton, especially on his weakest surface of clay. Daniil Medvedev may enter the conversation; he did push Sinner quite hard in their semifinal in Rome last week. But his aversion to the surface of clay has reached internet meme-lore. He has also only won four matches in the last five Majors. Sinner’s compatriot Lorenzo Musetti may have been a sneaky pick, but injuries have kept him out of another Major, as they have 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 ago, or Nadal’s god-like aura going into Roland Garros in the 2000s, has the build-up around a Major been so focused on one player. So, what if Sinner cracks? What if injury strikes at the wrong time or he succumbs under the burden of making history? Who is best positioned to take advantage? To pick a conventional contender, all signs point back to Djokovic: unquestionably an indictment of how weak the world’s current top 10 are if you take the two best players out of the reckoning.
There was good news and bad news for the Serb after Thursday’s draw. He will not have to face Sinner till the final but has to fend off big-serving home favourite Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round, and in a potential rematch of the 2023 final, might face Casper Ruud (who just reached the Italian Open final) in the fourth round.
Sinner has shown no signs of faltering under pressure. The circus-like atmosphere that follows a Major will put him and his bid for history under the spotlight, and in his current form, he remains overwhelmingly likely to get over the line. The question of ‘If not Sinner, then who?, however, could cause all sorts of chaos.
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Jannik Sinner is attempting to become the eighth player to complete the Grand Slam in Paris. More significantly, though, he aims to become only the second player in tennis history, after Novak Djokovic, to win each of the 14 most important events on the tennis calendar: the nine Masters 1000s, the four Majors, and the year-end ATP Finals.
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Sinner is on a 29-match winning streak that began back in March in Indian Wells. In that time, he has picked up five trophies, on two different surfaces, all at the Masters 1000 level.
English (US) ·