Jannik Sinner’s three biggest French Open contenders named amid career Grand Slam prize
Arthur Fils has been named among the three most likely players to beat Jannik Sinner at this year’s French Open.
That is according to tennis YouTuber and Tennis Channel commentator Gill Gross, who believes that the Frenchman’s firepower will allow him to potentially go toe to toe with the world No 1 in Paris.
The 21-year-old is fifth in the ATP Tour race this season, despite missing the Australian Open due to injury. Fils’ best Grand Slam result was a fourth-round run at Wimbledon in 2024, and he has never been past the third round at Roland Garros.
However, Fils, who is seeded 17th at the French Open, did win the Barcelona Open in April, has had success on clay, and is certainly one to watch in the years to come.
Gross exclusively told Tennis365, “I would say Arthur Fils, because in terms of power and movement, he can actually measure up. With Jannik Sinner, I don’t think there’s anybody else who I would say that about.”
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Outside of Fils, who is scheduled to take on second seed Alexander Zverev in round four of the French Open, Gross thinks that Daniil Medvedev could also trouble Sinner over the coming fortnight.
The 6ft 6in Russian took the Italian to a gruelling three-setter in Rome and did beat Sinner at Wimbledon in 2024, so he can claim sizeable scalps on the big stage.
“I’ll go with Medvedev. He beat him at Wimbledon a couple years ago. He played him really tight in Rome. Daniil has shown flashes of sort of his vintage level of ball striking that makes him really, really difficult to beat from the back of the court,” said Gross.
And the third and final name should surprise nobody. None other than Novak Djokovic. The 39-year-old admitted he has physical issues heading into the second major of the year but did beat Sinner Down Under four months ago.
The biggest concern for the 24-time Grand Slam champion is just managing his body into the second week of the tournament.
Gross added, “The third is Novak Djokovic, the last guy to beat Sinner at a major. And it’s just skill for skill. Novak is right there with Jannik.
“So if he can manage his energy and his physicality, in Australia, a lot of things had to go right for Novak in order for that to happen. But if he can sort of hang in with Jannik when it comes to physicality, he can definitely hang in when it comes to tennis capabilities.”
Indeed, Djokovic benefitted from a walkover and Lorenzo Musetti retiring from two sets up, before putting in a performance for the ages in a five-set win over Sinner in Australia.
Djokovic’s head to head with Sinner is 5-6, Medvedev is 10-7 down, and Fils is 0-2 against the 24-year-old. Sinner has won all five Masters 1000 titles this year and looks unbeatable.
Whether or not anyone can deny him the career Grand Slam remains to be seen.
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