‘Man to beat’ Carlos Alcaraz wary of sharper Jannik Sinner at French Open

PARIS – Carlos Alcaraz will arrive at Roland Garros brimming with confidence after taking down rival Jannik Sinner in Rome, but the defending champion expects the Italian to be an even tougher proposition after shaking off the rust following his doping ban.

The resurgent Alcaraz, who climbed back to world No. 2 this week after his Italian Open victory, has been placed in the opposite half of the draw from top-ranked Sinner, creating the possibility of another thrilling championship match between two of tennis’ most exciting young talents.

Alcaraz has won 15 of 16 matches on clay this season, triumphing at Monte Carlo and reaching the Barcelona final, before going all the way in Rome after missing the Madrid Open with a thigh injury.

He has gained the upper hand against Sinner recently, emerging victorious in their last four encounters to establish a 7-4 lead in their head-to-head record, including a five-set triumph in the 2024 French Open semi-finals.

His success on May 18 ended Sinner’s run of 26 successive victories.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz believes the challenge of playing Sinner brings the best out of him.

“He’s the best player in the world. It doesn’t matter that he was out of the tour for three months,” he said.

“Every tournament he’s playing, he plays great. The numbers are there. He wins almost every match he plays.

“If I don’t play at my best, 10 out of 10, it’s going to be impossible to beat him. That’s why I’m more focused when I’m playing against him.

“He has that aura. When you’re seeing him on the other side of the net, it’s different.

“I’m not going to say I’m feeling like when Rafa (Nadal) and Roger (Federer) are playing, but I’m feeling like it’s a different energy when we are facing against each other.”

Sinner faced his first straight-set defeat in 18 months at Rome, highlighting his recent dominance. Yet his run to the final remains impressive, marking his first tournament since retaining his Australian Open title in January.

“I am closer than expected in a way of everything,” said the Italian, who served a three-month ban after twice testing positive for traces of the banned anabolic steroid clostebol.

Sinner has consistently claimed the product entered his system unintentionally via a massage from his physiotherapist, who used a spray containing it on a cut.

He reached a settlement after authorities accepted the contamination was accidental and determined a longer ban would be “unduly harsh”.

Sinner also called Alcaraz “the man to beat”, but Alexander Zverev is among the French Open title contenders too, after falling just short in the 2024 final.

The German then lost to Sinner in the Australian Open final but does have a clay trophy under his belt this season after winning in Munich.

He made a late decision to enter the Hamburg event this week after losing in the quarter-finals in Rome, searching for a boost after a “very negative” loss to Lorenzo Musetti.

“This can’t be the last match before the French Open... I need positivity before it starts,” said Zverev.

Novak Djokovic will touch down in Paris with limited expectations for a man with a record 24 Grand Slam titles, three of them coming at Roland Garros.

The Serb has slipped to sixth in the rankings, leaving him vulnerable to the possibility of a quarter-final against Alcaraz or Sinner, as his wait for a tour-level 100th title goes on. His last success came at the 2024 Olympics, where he beat Alcaraz on Court Philippe-Chatrier to land an elusive gold medal.

Madrid champion Casper Ruud is a two-time Roland Garros runner-up, while Britain’s Jack Draper ranks a career-best fifth after winning at Indian Wells and reaching the Madrid final.

Musetti has also performed well during the clay swing. The Italian lost the Monte Carlo final to Alcaraz and made the last four in Madrid and Rome.

Holger Rune is the only player to beat Alcaraz so far on clay this season but he has struggled for fitness either side of his Barcelona triumph. AFP