Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz continue to be the two frontrunners on the ATP Tour ahead of the clay court season and the French Open.
Sinner won the Miami Open to finish the hard court season in style, after becoming just the eighth man in history to complete the Sunshine Double in singles.
The Italian’s recent title victories also mean that he is now closing the gap on the world number one ranking, especially with Carlos Alcaraz losing to Sebastian Korda in just his second match in Miami.
Alcaraz beat Sinner in a thrilling French Open final last year, and six-time Grand Slam doubles champion Rennae Stubbs has revealed who she thinks is the favourite for this year’s tournament.
Rennae Stubbs claims Jannik Sinner is the ‘favourite’ to win the French Open
The clay court season is on the horizon after the Miami Open, and Stubbs has now backed Sinner to go on to win the French Open for the first time.
Will Jannik Sinner win the French Open?
When speaking on her podcast, Stubbs suggested that she thinks Sinner has been trying to adapt his game to clay court tennis.
“Is he the favourite to win the French Open now? Absolutely,” Stubbs said about Sinner. “I saw some things about his game, particularly in Miami, where I felt he was putting more shape on the forehand. The depth of his groundstrokes, people do not talk about enough.
“I talk about it quite a bit, how nobody really talks about the depth of shot in tennis in general. But if you hit the ball within a foot or two of the baseline, you are more than likely going to get a short ball off of that, unless you are playing against someone hitting the ball as well as you are.
“But you look at the big matches and points that he has played over the last few weeks and that’s what he does so well. His movement is extraordinary and his serving.”
Sinner stated that the French Open is his biggest goal for this year, after suffering a heartbreaking defeat in the final last year where he had three championship points.
If he is able to get revenge and win the French Open, then it will mean that Sinner has completed the Career Grand Slam, joining Alcaraz after his Australian Open success from earlier this year.
Who is the better hard court player – Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner?
Has Jannik Sinner ever beaten Carlos Alcaraz on clay?
Sinner’s defeat in the French Open final last year was his third consecutive loss to Alcaraz on clay.
However, Sinner does actually have one win over Alcaraz on clay, having beaten him in the final of the Croatia Open in 2022.
This was actually the first final that they ever played against each other, with Sinner coming from a set down to beat Alcaraz in Umag.
| Year | Tournament | Result |
| 2022 | Croatia Open (F) | Sinner beat Alcaraz, 6(5)-7 6-1 6-1 |
| 2024 | French Open (SF) | Alcaraz beat Sinner, 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3 |
| 2025 | Italian Open (F) | Alcaraz beat Sinner, 7-6(5) 6-1 |
| 2025 | French Open (F) | Alcaraz beat Sinner, 4-6 6(4)-7 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(2) |
It seems likely that Sinner will need to find some of this form again, as Alcaraz has reached the final of the last four Grand Slams.
However, before then Sinner will have his sights set on the Monte Carlo Masters, where he knows he can return to world number one if he wins the title.
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