Roland Garros, Men's French Open 2026 - Grand Slam

[the AntiPusher]

Seeds that have lost Thursday 28th May,

Sinner (1) I cant believe that I am typing he lost, trying to move on quickly ( in saying that every player is beatable, though not when he was playing for a career slam. Meh! )
Shelton (5) Darderi (14) Rinderknech (22) Vacherot (16) withdrew with a foot injury

Last match of the day another 2 unseeded players,
Italian Arnaldi takes out Tsits 76(2) 57 63 62

Stefanos is gonna regret this missed opportunity..its like not buying a ticket for the lottery.. if you dont put in the effort of trying to die on the court you aint gonna win.. if novak wins tomorrow... he has a clear path?/

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

Same. Old. Tsitsipas.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Same. Old. Tsitsipas.

Gee you should Crow Phil same old same old from Shelton in is match today LOL!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

AP,
If you are still around
One of the main reasons that Shelton needs a new coach and I am certain Don Fabio would agree with me,
Is he had No Game Plan what so ever
He runs around the court like A Head Less Chook
He hs No Patience on the clay what so ever
As you know Patience is vital on clay, also structure helps as well
I dont know what instructions Ben was given, to me he decided to Wing It and came unstuck
I am not a fan of his game, period, he hasnt improved in over 2 years

As far as I am concerned Tien has the game for clay, he still needs time but has a great coach in Chang, who knows his way around a clay court

 

[Murat B.]

Novak's problem is no matter how it goes for him, he is gassed by the semis. If he plays a 5 setter along the way and survives, whomever he will play at the semis will take him out. Assuming he beats the odds and survives a tough semi, the tank will be fully empty for the finals. His biggest rival is his body and father time.

 

[mrzz]

Again, the tournament did just get really interesting.

Novak - In his own category. The big question is whether, at 39, he can make it through against guys 1-2 decades younger. He's the name to beat, and a fun fact is that he's won more GS matches this year than anyone else. But...he's old. If he makes it through to the semis, he's got to be the favorite, but he could also be taken out in the next round or two.

Zverev - He should be the new favorite, but how can we not doubt that he'll find a way to blow this? He should zoom through the next two matches (Halys, then Khachanov or de Jong) and if Jodar cools down, he could have an easy QF.

Veteran darkhorses - Auger-Aliassime, Ruud, Paul, Rublev, De Minaur, Khachanov. These guys have pretty much been written off for Slams, but one could sneak through.

Young Bloods - Mensik, Tien, Jodar, Fonseca, Kouame...lots of talent here, but also hard to see anyone of these guys winning a Slam. I mean, Jodar just played his first ATP match earlier this year; Kouame is 17, and a young 17 (March). I wouldn't be suprised if the eventual winner comes from the Fonzie vs Novak match...if Joao beats Novak, he might get that boost he's been needing for things to come together for him.

Clay guys/journeymen - Borges, Dos Cerundolo, Cobolli, Tirante, Tabilo, Carreno Busta, etc. Very unlikely for the eventual winner to come from here, but all of them should look to players like Gaston Gaudio and Albert Costa to remind them of surprise Roland Garros champs.

I would remove Francisco Cerundolo (the dangerous one) from the last group. Not only he's been to the top 20, and is inside the top 30 for a very long time, he is (as you put) a very good clay courter. I would give him (way) more chances than Mensik, Tien, Kouame, FAA. Around the same as Jodar, Fonseca, Paul, de Minaur and Kachanov.

Above him Ruud, Zverev and Djokovic. I would give those three the same odds, if Djokovic survives Fonseca, but in all seriousness I think he will be blown off the court.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Even though I am not a fan of Zverev, and his game, his best chance to me to win a GS title is on the clay, remember he was leading Alcaraz at RG and let it slip, not playing to win, but being too defensive
My main concern is his Head, you can have all the shots in the world, though if your head comes unstuck as it has in the past with Zverev, USO, RG and recently in the SF at the AO, forget about it, our game is 80% mental.

 

[El Dude]

I would remove Francisco Cerundolo (the dangerous one) from the last group. Not only he's been to the top 20, and is inside the top 30 for a very long time, he is (as you put) a very good clay courter. I would give him (way) more chances than Mensik, Tien, Kouame, FAA. Around the same as Jodar, Fonseca, Paul, de Minaur and Kachanov.

Above him Ruud, Zverev and Djokovic. I would give those three the same odds, if Djokovic survives Fonseca, but in all seriousness I think he will be blown off the court.

I didn't even think of ranking them by likelihood, more in terms of thematic groups. But if I was forced, it would probably be...

1. Djokovic
2. Zverev
3. Ruud
4. De Minaur
5. Paul
6. Fonseca
7. Jodar
8. F Cerundolo

Or something like that. There's a solid gap between 1-2 and everyone else, imo, but not huge.

 

[El Dude]

 

[El Dude]

It would be interesting of after the Fonzie hype, and the Jodar nova, Moises Kouame turns out to be the greatest post-Alcaraz player.

 

[britbox]

Highlights

 

[Jelenafan]

You guys are all over thinking it.

Tommy Paul is this year’s French Open champ.

Allez Tommy!!

 

[the AntiPusher]

I didn't even think of ranking them by likelihood, more in terms of thematic groups. But if I was forced, it would probably be...

1. Djokovic
2. Zverev
3. Ruud
4. De Minaur
5. Paul
6. Fonseca
7. Jodar
8. F Cerundolo

Or something like that. There's a solid gap between 1-2 and everyone else, imo, but not huge.

Where’s FAA..I thought he was your guy!

 

[Jelenafan]

I'll always wonder what if Tsitsipas held on to win the 2021 French Open final. He was clearly never the same after that choke.

I think it was after Stefano changed his hair stylist, the magic was gone.

 

[El Dude]

Where’s FAA..I thought he was your guy!

Maybe 5 years ago? I never really settled on a post-Federer favorite, just guys I like and follow. For FAA, I'd just like to see him win a Masters but have long given up on a Slam. But sure, he would in the top 10 somewhere, and I suppose belongs with Demon, Paul, and FC.

I'll feel better about speculating after R32...if Fonzie beats Novak, he jumps up.

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

Where’s FAA..I thought he was your guy!

Yeah, if FAA is going to make a run at a slam, this is his chance. With Sinner and Ben Shelton out, he's not going to get an easier path to a slam final than this one.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Maybe 5 years ago? I never really settled on a post-Federer favorite, just guys I like and follow. For FAA, I'd just like to see him win a Masters but have long given up on a Slam. But sure, he would in the top 10 somewhere, and I suppose belongs with Demon, Paul, and FC.

I'll feel better about speculating after R32...if Fonzie beats Novak, he jumps up.

Sorry I cant see FAA winning this year at RG he has been struggling against lower players so far, maybe a Masters down the track he is a better indoor player

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Yeah, if FAA is going to make a run at a slam, this is his chance. With Sinner and Ben Shelton out, he's not going to get an easier path to a slam final than this one.

Do you actually watch matches at RG so far, if you did you would know FAA has been struggling against lower ranked players full stop!

 

[britbox]

I think it was after Stefano changed his hair stylist, the magic was gone.

Was the new one called Delilah?

 

[britbox]

Sinner Press Conference:



LeoAI Transcript Summary

• Match Outcome: Sinner lost a grueling match after holding a 5-1 lead in the third set, ultimately struggling to close out the game due to severe physical exhaustion.
• Physical Symptoms: He reported feeling dizzy, having very low energy, and not sleeping well the night before, noting that the issue was likely a combination of fatigue from a heavy schedule and illness rather than just the weather.
• Tactical Adjustments: In an attempt to conserve energy, he deliberately let the fourth set slip away to try and recover for the fifth, but his body remained "very flat" and he could not regain his strength.
• Future Plans: Sinner expressed no regrets about his recent tournament schedule given his three consecutive clay-court titles, but he confirmed he will take time off to recover physically and mentally before the grass season and Wimbledon.