Tennis

French Open: Who's going to win men's singles Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros after Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic shock defeats?

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
French Open: Who's going to win men's singles Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros after Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic shock defeats?

Jannik Sinner's defeat to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round of the French Open sent shockwaves across the world of tennis.

World No 1 Sinner was the biggest favourite going into a Grand Slam in the men's singles draw since Rafael Nadal at the 2009 French Open. Coincidentally, Nadal also failed to win at Roland-Garros that year.

Sinner's elimination meant Novak Djokovic - going for his 25th Grand Slam - was heavily fancied but he by Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca on Friday.

With both out, there are no other Grand Slam champions in the draw. So who are the favourites to be champion next Sunday?

Ranking: 3, Age: 29

Alexander Zverev has been the nearly man when it comes to Grand Slams for the last six years with three career major final appearances. He should have won the first of those - the 2020 US Open - as he was two sets up and served for the championship too, only to lose to Dominic Thiem.

The German has bounced back from a severe right-ankle injury when he rolled it and tore three lateral ligaments in the 2022 French Open semi-finals.

But his return to form has coincided with the rise of Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz over the last three years. With Alcaraz injured and Sinner out, Zverev is now favourite as his big serve and consistent hard groundstrokes have matched up well on the clay throughout his career.

Four of Zverev's seven Masters 1000 titles have come on the clay but the big question is can he handle the pressure of his new favourite status for the remainder of the tournament?

Ranking: 6, Age: 25

Felix Auger-Aliassime is yet to fulfil the great potential he appeared to have earlier in his career but he is one of only a few standout names in the top half, so can he reach his first Grand Slam final?

Auger-Aliassime prefers the hard surface but generally never makes his life easy coming through the earlier rounds and so does not have enough left for the latter stages of tournaments.

The Canadian has proved that once again this week with a gutsy fifth-set tie-break win over Daniel Altmaier in the first round, then he dropped another set in the second round.

He must sense a big opportunity, though, to go far as his side of the draw has opened up without Sinner, but Auger-Aliassime must get a couple of easier wins under his belt.

Ranking: 14, Age: 24

Also in Auger-Aliassime's section of the draw is Flavio Cobolli and they could meet in the quarter-finals. Cobolli possesses great ball-striking ability and is a natural at the baseline which works well on the clay.

The 24-year-old led Italy to the defence of their Davis Cup title last November, winning each of his matches, so he can handle the pressure.

Cobolli is yet to drop a set at this year's French Open and faces young American star Learner Tien in the next round. If he also wins that match in straight sets, it is fair to say he has timed his form perfectly and he has looked pretty unstressed in the heat of Paris too this week.

Ranking: 16, Age: 27

Casper Ruud will meet Foneseca in the fourth round on Sunday if he beats USA's Tommy Paul in the third round.

Ruud is a clay-court specialist, having reached the 2022 and 2023 French Open finals, and his topspin creates all sorts of problems for anyone he plays.

The Norwegian had a quiet 2025 but was runner-up to Sinner at the Italian Open earlier this month and made the semi-finals in Geneva a week later to ensure he was match ready for Roland-Garros.

He was nearly beaten by Roman Safiullin in the first round on Monday but dug extremely deep to come through in five sets. Rudd's draw is not easy and the physical exertions he went through in the first round could come back to bite him later on.

Ranking: 22, Age: 28

Frances Tiafoe came through a gruelling five-set match in the second round against Hubert Hurkacz but, with his big serve, he can always be a threat.

Tiafoe made the quarter-finals of the French Open for the first time 12 months ago but clay is arguably his weakest surface.

He is in the more open top half, though, and would not have to play a seeded player until the last eight at the earliest.

Ranking: 29, Age: 19

No Alcaraz, no problem? Spanish tennis fans are getting very excited about teenager Rafael Jodar who has skyrocketed up the rankings this year.

Jodar was outside the top 100 in March but is up to 29th in the world and playing tennis that could take him very deep into this French Open.

The 19-year-old won a Challenger Tour event in April on the clay but his big breakthrough came at the Barcelona Open where he made the semi-finals, then followed it up with runs to the quarter-finals in Madrid and Rome.

His powerful groundstrokes and natural ability to move across the clay has worked wonders but he is also in the stacked bottom half of the draw which features Zverev and Ruud.

Fonseca, ranked 30th in the world and with two ATP Tour titles, will face either Rudd or Paul in round four. He's had an impressive 2026, including beating former world No 10 Matteo Berrettini at the Monte Carlo Masters and will be full of confidence after beating Djokovic.

Andrey Rublev is in the top half and could cause problems if he can keep his head, and his compatriot Karen Khachanov is another name to look out for in the bottom half - Zverev will likely need to beat him in the fourth round.

World No 62 Raphael Collignon has never been past the third round of a major but upset American No 1 Ben Shelton in straight sets in the second round with some incredible tennis.

Moise Kouame, 17, has got French fans excited after he became the youngest player to reach the third round of a Grand Slam since Nadal in 2003. The teenager is on course to meet Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round.

And what about Sinner's conqueror Cerundolo? Although the Argentine capitalised on Sinner's physical issues, he will need to play much better and it would be just as shocking if he made a deep run in this tournament.

Sinner might be out, but there is a huge opportunity for someone to achieve their tennis dream...

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