Clement Tabur faces Sinner’s 29-match streak at Roland Garros
clement tabur is not the main storyline at Roland Garros, but he is entering a men’s draw that has tilted sharply toward Jannik Sinner. The Italian world number one starts the French Open on Sunday as the heaviest favourite after Carlos Alcaraz was ruled out with a wrist injury.
Sinner has won his past 29 matches and six straight Masters tournaments, a run that has pushed him into position as the clear leader for the Coupe des Mousquetaires. He has lost only two of his 38 matches this season, with defeats to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open and Jakub Mensik in Doha.
Sinner and Alcaraz
The men’s game over the past two seasons has been shaped by the rivalry between Sinner and Alcaraz, and the pair have won the past nine majors between them. Alcaraz’s absence changes the French Open from a two-player fight into a draw where Sinner stands alone at the top of the list of contenders.
That shift is the part players in the field have to deal with now. Djokovic, the third seed, said Sinner is maybe in the form of his life, and added: “He's maybe in the form of his life, and without Carlos being here increases his chances of claiming more Grand Slam titles,” He also said, “But we are all here to try to win against him and prevent him from taking more titles.”
Rome final and clay form
The warning signs on clay have been there for a while. Last week, Sinner beat Casper Ruud 6-4 6-4 in the Rome final, adding another title to a spring that already included Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome.
Ruud described the pressure Sinner creates point by point after that loss: “The thing that makes him so good is you get no breathing room from any corner,” he said. “Whether you're playing a forehand cross-court rally, or a backhand cross-court rally, you know the ball will come at a high pace and typically good placement as well.” He added: “You know if you're not very precise with your own shots then he will get on top of you and punish you.”
Roland Garros pressure
That leaves the field with a simple task and a hard one. Sinner arrives as the top seed, in the middle of a 29-match winning streak, and with the best clay results of anyone in the draw after Alcaraz was removed by injury.
For anyone else in the bracket, the path now runs through the same obstacle: a 24-year-old who has dropped only two matches all season and has already turned the spring clay swing into his own march through the biggest events. The draw no longer depends on whether he can be beaten by one rival; it depends on whether someone in the field can make him play long enough to break that run.
