Jannik Sinner has gone undefeated on the ATP Tour since February, and looks set to continue his streak at Roland Garros.
Since his quarterfinal exit at the Qatar Open, the Italian has won five consecutive tournaments, all of which have been ATP Masters 1000s.
Sinner is now looking to complete the Career Grand Slam at the French Open, and is the overwhelming favourite to go all the way.
Jannik Sinner is now a bigger favorite to win Roland Garros than Rafael Nadal ever was
Agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments!
Ahead of his campaign, American WTA star Jessica Pegula was asked what it will take for anyone to beat the men’s world number one.
Jessica Pegula discusses Jannik Sinner’s dominance
Speaking in her pre-tournament press conference, Pegula said: “Yeah, the Jannik problem, I don’t have an answer for that. I wish… I don’t think anybody does. That’s a tough one.
“I think myself, I’m just, like, stumped kind of by just the level that he’s been able to put on. And then now with Carlos not playing, you’re kind of looking like like the inevitable is going to happen.
“Obviously, the thing about this sport is anything can happen. Anything’s possible. You never know what’s gonna happen in a match or what’s going to unfold and if he’s going to stay healthy the entire tournament, now going to three out of five, there’s a lot of other factors.
Prove me wrong – Jannik Sinner’s best surface is clay
If not, what is?
“So yeah, that is, I’m not sure I have an answer for that, but I think he’s obviously the favourite, and he’s been playing, you know, the best tennis in the world and just been… yeah, it’s hard to put into words, honestly. Like, we’ve talked about it on the podcast and we’re all just kind of like, we don’t really know what to say. It’s just, pretty incredible.
“So, you know, it’s funny, you see that we used to say this with Novak and you’re like, ‘Oh, no one’s gonna do this again’, and now you’re kind of like, ‘Well, someone’s already starting to do it again!’ And it’s crazy how, yeah, these players come into a draw and things can change.”
Jessica Pegula says the women’s side is a ‘bit more open’
Pegula continued: “So to the women’s side, yeah, it seems a bit more open, just with different results on the clay, you know, with Elina [Svitolina] winning Rome, Marta [Kostyuk] winning Madrid, it seems like there’s a lot of favourites that could win in a way.
“There’s a lot of people playing good tennis, myself included, and then obviously, Aryna’s, I think, record in Grand Slams has been probably the best, but you have Elina playing really well.
“Coco [Gauff] obviously loves to play well here, so it’s definitely a lot of, I think, space for someone to win, which makes it, I think, fun.
“Maybe less stressful if I was a guy, knowing that that I had to somehow take down Jannik, but it’s a bit more open, which I think is really exciting for women’s tennis, because there’s a lot of really good players right now that are able to possibly break through and win a title or at least challenge, you know, the top players.”
Pegula will take on Australian star Kimberly Birrell in her opening match at the French Open.
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