The biggest story of Roland Garros so far took place on Thursday.
World number one and overwhelming favourite Jannik Sinner crashed out of the tournament in the second round to Juan Manuel Cerundolo.
The Italian later revealed in his press conference that he wasn’t feeling well, having visibly struggled during the bout.
How concerned are you about Jannik Sinner’s physical issues going forward in his career?
His exit has blown the tournament wide open, and particularly the top half, in which there are no former Grand Slam champions.
Sinner‘s loss has also meant that a 26-year streak has officially come to an end.
No world number one or two in third round of Roland Garros
According to Opta Ace, this is the first time both the world number one and two will not be in the men’s singles third round at Roland Garros in 26 years.
The last time it happened was in 2000, when neither Andre Agassi nor Pete Sampras made it to round three.
That year, Sampras crashed out in the first round to Mark Philippoussis, while defending champion Agassi fell in round two to Karol Kucera.
Who is your dark horse for the Roland Garros title this year?
This time around, world number two Carlos Alcaraz did not feature at Roland Garros due to a wrist injury.
Number one Sinner was expected to go all the way in Paris, and looked convincing after his first round win, but couldn’t get the job done.
New favourites to win Roland Garros after Jannik Sinner’s exit
By seeding, Alexander Zverev is now in pole position to win Roland Garros and claim his first Grand Slam title.
The German, widely considered the best player never to win a major, is seeded second in the French capital, and may never get a better chance than this to finally get his hands on one of tennis’ four biggest trophies.
However, in his path is 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, who also has a golden opportunity to clinch number 25.
Djokovic’s last major triumph came at the 2023 US Open, and since then he has come up short on a number of occasions.
Should he go all the way at Roland Garros, he will surpass Margaret Court for the outright most Grand Slam titles of any man or woman in history.
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