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Tennis Jun 08, 2026

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.

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 tournament? He is through to the quarter-finals where he takes on Rafael Jodar.

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 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. He takes on Flavio Cobolli for a spot in the semi-finals.

Ranking: 14, Age: 24

Also in Auger-Aliassime's section of the draw is Flavio Cobolli and they could meet in the quarter-finals, with Zachary Svajda stood in the Italian's way. 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's run so far includes a hugely-impressive 6-2 6-2 6-3 win over young American star Learner Tien in the third round. It is fair to say he has timed his form perfectly and he has looked pretty unstressed in the heat of Paris too.

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.

Joao Fonseca, ranked 30th in the world and with two ATP Tour titles, beat Casper Ruud in round four to back up his sensational win over Djokovic.

He has 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.

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

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