Jannik Sinner’s French Open favourite status compared to Rafael Nadal in bold statement
Leading coach Patrick Mouratoglou has claimed that Jannik Sinner has as much chance of winning the 2026 French Open as Rafael Nadal did during his career.
World No 1 Sinner is on a 23-match winning streak, having secured the Masters 1000 titles in Madrid, Monte Carlo, Miami and Indian Wells during a remarkable run since the start of March.
Carlos Alcaraz — the world No 2 and Sinner’s biggest rival — is the two-time reigning French Open champion, but he will not defend his title at Roland Garros due to a wrist injury.
Sinner will, therefore, be the overwhelming favourite to win his maiden French Open crown at this year’s edition of the clay-court Grand Slam.
In a post on his Instagram account, Mouratoglou compared Sinner’s status to that of Nadal — who won a record 14 French Open titles.
“Many people think Jannik Sinner is the big favourite for Roland Garros. They might be underestimating the truth,” said the Frenchman.
“I think the chances that Jannik Sinner wins Roland Garros cannot be higher.
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“It’s, for me, as much as the chances for Rafa to win Roland Garros throughout his career.
“I think he (Sinner) has the same margin, not for the same reason, because the reason why Rafa was unbeatable on clay was also his game style.
“Jannik has so much margin on any surface, except with Carlos, but Carlos is out. It’s not his game style, it’s his dominance that is unmatched.”
Mouratoglou went on to argue that Sinner has a better clay-court game than Novak Djokovic did during two of his best seasons.
“Now if you look at the two years when Novak [Djokovic] had the same kind of dominance [as Sinner]: 2011 and 2015. In both cases, Novak didn’t win Roland Garros,” said the former coach of Serena Williams.
“But there is a big difference. I think that Jannik’s game for clay is better than Novak’s game for clay.
“Jannik plays with way more margin over the net. I think the quality of his ball is different, which is so important on clay. That brings even a little plus to him.”
Sinner is set to compete at the Italian Open, where he will aim to win his sixth consecutive Masters 1000 title.
