«
Only one being is missing and everything is depopulated." The clay of Roland Garros will not have this year its king to dictate a law that has lasted for many years. The absence of Rafael Nadal opens some doors to some who thought they had to go through the window. This is the case of several players in the top 10 who are looking forward to a first Grand Slam victory to launch their careers at the best level. Three players who have won several important tournaments on the ATP Tour but who have a growing appetite, at the dawn of a summer where power can change hands and a page of history can turn.
To discover
- Roland Garros Men's Singles
- Roland Garros Women's Singles
Casper Ruud, "the revanchist"
24 years old, world number 4
The Norwegian simply has to win the tournament if he wants to do better than last year. Beaten by Rafa in the final, Ruud has a shot to play knowing that clay is his favorite surface. The black spot is that he has not really convinced this season after a year 2022 full of promise. It seems that it has reached its glass ceiling, giving way to disappointment. This is evidenced by his elimination in Geneva where he was the favorite of a tournament that was to allow him to fill up with confidence before attacking Roland. As a result of the races, he could not go further than in the quarters, eliminated by Chilean Nicolas Jarry (world number 54), (3-6, 7-6, 7-5). Before that, Ruud had experienced another disappointment in Barcelona where his executioner was this time the Argentine Francisco Cerundolo in eighth.
Nevertheless his way is quite clear until the knockout stages where the main dangers will be Botic van de Zanschulp and Tommy Paul. He could counter another young player in his case, Holger Rune at the quarterfinal stage. Like last year.
See alsoStan Wawrinka: "Roland-Garros will always remain at the top"
Holger Rune, "the character"
20 years old, world number 6
The young Dane, who has just celebrated his 20th birthday (May 22), arrives in town full of confidence. It must be said that he seems very rarely worried, with an assertive character that annoys more than one and especially on the circuit. Stan Wawrinka will not say otherwise. Love him or hate him, forced to find that on earth he is formidable. Certainly his only title this season is in Munich on an ATP 250 tournament, but it was on clay. And we can add to this remarkable outings in Monte-Carlo and Rome where he reached the final twice, beaten by Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev.
Rune is unpredictable and his ambitions are constantly growing, which is why he will be a very difficult customer to eliminate, especially in three winning sets. Especially since he ousted Novak Djokovic in Rome and therefore no opponent will scare him. This time, he will have the "momentum" if he comes to face Casper Ruud in the quarters, to wash away the disappointment of last season at Roland.
" READ ALSORoland-Garros: "nothing serious" in the thigh, reassures Swiatek, ready to defend his title
Jannik Sinner, "the talented one"
21 years old, world number 8
One thing is certain, the Italian has not made an impression on clay this season. Semi-finalist in Monte-Carlo (beaten by Holger Rune), Sinner only reached the knockout stages in Rome (released by Fransisco Cerundolo) and did not take part in the Madrid final. He was much more famous on hard during the American tour with a final in Miami (beaten by Daniil Madvedev) and a half in Indian Wells (defeated by Carlos Alcaraz).
But Sinner is still waiting for a benchmark performance in grand slam and why not a victory. His talent is undeniable and immense, but he still lacks consistency in the end of tournaments to tip the scales in his favor. Very good mentally, we know that he is a player we will have to count on and who will offer us points that we will remember at the end of the fortnight.
In addition, the presence of one of these three players in the final of Roland-Garros is to be taken very seriously. The reason is simple, all three are in the same part of the table. The first two could find themselves in the quarters while Sinner could logically face Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals, and thus why not find the winner of a possible Ruud/Rune in the semifinals.
