Jannik Sinner gets a ‘lucky’ French Open draw – but everything looks simple for the Italian right now

Kevin Palmer 21 May 2026 7:00 PM

Jannik Sinner fist pump during his match

Jannik Sinner’s path to another Roland Garros final appears to have been cleared by a favourable draw for the second Grand Slam of the year – but every draw will lead to the same conclusion for the world No 1.

Such is the chasm that has opened up between Sinner and every other player in the men’s game that there appear to be no threats to the Italian as he looks to win his first French Open title.

After cruising through the last six ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in chillingly clinical fashion, Sinner heads into Roland Garros as the biggest favourite to win the title since the incomparable Rafael Nadal was in his prime.

It’s not just the reality that Sinner is better than the rest that makes him the favourite, but the scale of the difference between the world No 1 and his potential rivals that is so vast that no draw looks like a challenge for Sinner.

His path to a second successive French Open final starts with what is almost certain to be a one-side win against France’s Clement Tabur.

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Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo of Britain’s Jacob Fearnley will lie in wait in round two, with a match against rising Spanish star Martin Landaluce unlikely to trouble Sinner if they clash in the third round.

Arthur Rinderknech could be in his path in the last-16, with Ben Shelton and Alexander Bublik possible rivals in the quarter-finals.

Daniil Medvedev or Felix Auger-Aliassime will pose few perils in the semi-finals given Sinner’s dominance over both in their recent meetings.

And if the evergreen Novak Djokovic can defy the odds again and make it through to a second Grand Slam final of 2026, he will need to produce another miracle performance to beat Sinner.

Djokovic did just that at the Australian Open in January, but the Serbian is heading into the French Open with just one clay court match on his record and he lost that against Dino Prizmic.

Can anyone beat Sinner in Paris? Former British No 1 Tim Henman is among many who believes the world No 1 is unbeatable right now.

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“I think what Sinner is doing is absolutely phenomenal,” Henman told Tennis365 in an exclusive interview.

“From a physical, mental and technical point of view, he’s gone to the next level. We’ve always known he was a great player, but to be able to play with this type of consistency against the best players in the world and just dominate is absolutely amazing.

“With Alcaraz out heading into Roland Garros, it really is Sinner against the field. And if you offered me both, I’d take Sinner every day of the week.”