Jannik Sinner aims to continue his winning streak at Grand Slams when he begins his French Open journey in Monday's first-round match with Arthur Rinderknech.
The Italian returns to the court for the first time since Carlos Alcaraz snapped his 26-match winning streak in Rome, and the world No. 1 hopes to avoid a shock defeat against the home player.
Match preview
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Having never claimed a major clay title, Sinner begins his 2025 Roland Garros journey bidding to claim his 15th straight win at the Grand Slams.
The top seed claimed the 2024 US Open and followed that up by clinching the Australian Open at the turn of the year, improving to 14-0 at the leading events on the men's tour.
Nevertheless, the Italian's winning streak across all tournaments was snapped by friendly rival Alcaraz in Rome, where the Spaniard, who was the last man to beat the No. 1 player in Beijing, got the better of the returning Sinner to claim a maiden crown at the Masters event.
That defeat means that the returning top-ranked player still searches for his first ATP 1000 or Grand Slam title on clay, and he begins his bid for that feat against his French opponent.
While Sinner probably surpassed expectations in Rome, having just returned from a three-month suspension, the Italian superstar hopes to build momentum in the early rounds to hit close to his best level in the event's second week.
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Standing in the top-ranked player's path to a second-round berth against Terence Atmane or Richard Gasquet is home hope Rinderknech, who bids for a second win on the tour against the world No. 1.
The Frenchman enters his sixth Roland Garros seeking to win his third first-round contest in a row after previous failures to progress past tournament-opening matches.
Defeats to Aljaz Bedene, Marin Cilic and Alexander Bublik were followed by wins over veteran countryman Gasquet two years ago and wild card Adam Walton 12 months ago; however, the second round remains the 29-year-old's French Open ceiling.
Taylor Fritz and Tomas Martin Etcheverry beat Rinderknech in those years, and the world No. 72 now bids to claim a third consecutive round-one win at the French Open but faces an uphill task against the top-seeded men's player.
Further emphasising the home player's underdog status is a 7-17 record this season, although he has claimed five of those victories on clay, pointing to his competence on the dirt, though it remains to be seen if that will suffice against the world No. 1.
Head To Head
ATP Cup (2022) - Round robin: Sinner 6-3 7-6(3)
Antwerp (2021) - Quarter-final: Sinner 6-4 6-2
Lyon (2021) - Round of 16: Rinderknech 6-7(7) 6-2 7-5
Although Rinderknech won the pair's first meeting on the ATP Tour in 2021, Sinner has since notched consecutive victories to lead their head-to-head 2-1.
The Frenchman's only triumph over the world No. 1 was on the clay courts in Lyon four years ago, and the 29-year-old bids for another triumph on home soil against the Italian star.
Nevertheless, that victory was four years ago, and Sinner's level has risen since, underlined by his ascent to the top of men's tennis.
We say: Sinner to win in three sets
Having claimed the last two encounters against Rinderknech, albeit on hard courts, without dropping a set, Sinner is expected to dispatch the Frenchman with minimum fuss and advance to the second round in Paris.
