Men’s tennis is in a key transition period at the minute. As the sport moves away from the Big Three of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz look to be taking up their mantle as the predominant forces in the sport, but can others take advantage of their inexperience and pick up a shock Grand Slam title in Paris this year?
While his form is not quite what it was a few months back, Alexander Zverev is always in contention, especially on clay. His best Grand Slam runs have come at Roland Garros, reaching the final last year where he lost in five to Alcaraz and he reached the semi-finals in the three years before that. In 2022, he looked to have the better of the great Nadal on Court Philippe-Chatrier, something very few can claim to have done, before a cruel injury ended his run. It would seem unthinkable for someone of his talents to never win a Slam, however it is looking increasingly likely this will be the case given the way his form has tailed off and how Sinner and Alcaraz have gone from strength to strength. After all, how many from his generation and the one before never won a major? Also, it would be remiss of me to talk about Zverev without at least mentioning the very serious accusations regarding his private life which have rightfully dogged him.
Two of the more in-form top ten players at the minute are Jack Draper and Lorenzo Musetti. Draper won Indian Wells in impressive fashion, and has looked strong on the clay too. His talent means his time will surely come, but perhaps we are too early in his journey for the biggest titles to be in reach yet. Lorenzo Musetti is in a very similar situation. Always recognised as hugely talented and fantastically watchable, Musetti has added maturity to his game in 2025, and while he did not win any of them, all three of his runs at the Clay Masters 1000 events were very impressive. Like Draper though, Grand Slam glory is more likely to come in the future than straight away.
So to the two outstanding favourites then— Sinner has so far enjoyed an impressive but disjointed 2025. This was because of his controversial three-month doping ban, but he made a fine return on home soil at the Rome Masters, losing to Alcaraz in the final, and whenever Sinner plays, he is guaranteed to be amongst the favourites. Over the past year and a half, he has been clearly the best and most consistent in the world, and has a game suited to all surfaces.
However, not even Sinner can topple Alcaraz as the tournament favourite. His win over Sinner in Rome cemented the fact that while Sinner is perhaps more consistent across all surfaces, Alcaraz is the better clay court player. This title came in addition to the Monte Carlo Masters, underlining what an outstanding clay court season Alcaraz has had so far. The Spaniard comes in as defending champion, and there is no sign that he cannot add to his already impressive Grand Slam count this time in Paris.
So what of Novak Djokovic. Djokovic is in a rather strange position at the minute. He risks becoming something of a forgotten man compared to Sinner and Alcaraz if his slump in form continues. His clay court season has been poor so far, and even the man himself must realise his best days are behind him. I would be a fool to rule him out entirely however. I cannot even begin to consider how much tennis Djokovic has ruined for me over the years, as someone who is not a fan of his to say the least, so it would be tempting fate to discount him entirely.
So, while Alcaraz goes in as strong favourite, Sinner is never too far behind, and there are others waiting to pounce should the two main protagonists slip up. And, as ever, there will be storylines aplenty wherever you look across the draw.
Photo Credits: “Carlos Alcaraz Roland Garros 2023 cropped2” by 350z33 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.