PREVIEW | ATP French Open Roland Garros 2025: Jannik Sinner leads the rankings, but Carlos Alcaraz remains to be the man to beat in Paris

The excitement is building up in Paris as Roland Garros 2025 is set to kick off. With the man’s draw revealed, the tennis world approaches to two weeks of thrilling action. World’s No. 1 Jannik Sinner arrives as the second favorite, an unusual thing given he’s been dominating the Tour for almost a year. ¿The reason? Defending champion and favorite, Carlos Alcaraz.

This year’s men’s tournament arrives with added anticipation. With Novak Djokovic showing sings of vulnerability (but still being the most accomplished player on the planet), Rafa Nadal retired and young stars like Alcaraz y Sinner dominating the Tour as the only Slam winners since the 2023 US Open, where Djokovic clinched his 24 major title. Will the new generation seize control of the clay kingdom once again, or can a veteran reclaim the throne? Let’s break down the draw and see what’ coming up.

Starting from the top, World No. 1, Jannik Sinner finds himself in a favorable yet intriguing situation. He’s a favorite to reach the big final but might encounter some troubles on his way. After Rinderknecht, there’s a potential second-round matchup against veteran Richard Gasquet, playing his last Roland Garros in front of his home crowd. However, Jannik is coming back from that extended 90-day hiatus, which could lead to him having some problems. Up next there’s a chance to play Davidovich Fokina, another tought matchup against one of the best players of the season in terms of victories.

Arthur Fils, the rising French star is right there as a favorite for a fourth round match against the Italian. However, Fils still has to prove he can win carrying the pressure of playing at home. If not him, Rublev also is around, but the Russian still has to prove he can play given a slight drop in his game the past couple of months.

Jack Draper and Alex De Minaur are the strongest of this section. The British could face a potential match against either Gael Monfils -another French legend possibly making his last appearance on the tournament- in the second round and either Hubert Hurkacz or Joao Fonseca, so he's going to have to bring his A game from the get go. Still, Draper has shown that he's more than capable to win those challenging matchups playing at a great level on clay and relying on the incredible top spin that his left hand can generate.

De Minaur could face Indian Wells champion Jakub Mensik on the third round, so it will be an interesting matchup.

There's no question that one of the best matches of the first round will be between Joao Fonseca and Hurkacz. We'll see if the Brazilian star is ready to shine.

Alexande Zverev is aiming for another deep Grand Slam run. His first-round against promising American talent Learner Tien could be a tricky test, but Sascha's consistency in majors gives him the edge. Francisco Cerúndolo has been playing really well all season long and rises as the big question mark for the German, who's down 0-3 in the head-to-head. The Argentinian has always been solid on clay so this could be his biggest chance to go all the way and reach the quarter-finals.

One interesting matchup on this side would be the one featuring Matteo Arnaldi against Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime. Grigor Dimitrov is also part of this section but his early exit in Rome tells that he's not on his best form and therefore, his chances to upset Cerundolo or Zverev are slight to none.

Novak Djokovic, now 38, enters Roland Garros under considerable scrutiny. The tennis legend has faced a challenging season with multiple first-round losses. Yet, his pedigree and experience in Grand Slams remain unmatched. Djokovic's potential path could've been worse -like Sinner's- but still, there are some dark horses around. After a first round match against Mackenzie McDonald, Nole could clash with Corentin Moutet on his way to the third round, only to face former World's No. 1, Daniil Medvedev in the fourth. The Russian's no-title streak continues, but he could be a very difficult obstacle for Novak's intentions.

Lorenzo Musetti emerges as a notable contender. The talented Italian has consistently challenged top players and he's been playing out of his mind during the European clay-court swing, going deep in every single tournament he competed in.

Denmark's Holger Rune is the biggest threat for Musseti's intentions in Paris, being a potential matchup in the fourth round. Rune is a nightmare for top seeded players but continues to struggle when he's the big favorite to win. Still, Musetti's present shows that if nothing unexpected happens in terms of injuries, he should be cruising his opponents until facing the Danish and even then, he has the upper hand.

The second half of this section would be the American side of the Draw. Here, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe emerge as the best players in terms of rank. Sebastian Korda, Jenson Brooksby and Alex Michelsen are in the mix as well, increasing the chances of the United States to have a player in the quarter finals in a rather 'weak' section in terms of clay-court pedigree.

Casper Ruud and Tommy Paul are the clear cut choices for a future fourth round clash in this part of the draw. However, Karen Khachanov could upset the American in the third, if he continues to play as he did in Rome, where he pushed Carlos Alcaraz and gave the Spaniard a run for his money. Still, after Paul's level against Sinner in the semis, he should be the winner in that matchup. Ruud on the other hand could face Popyrin as his major threat en route to that fourth round.

Ben Shelton, Stefanos Tsitsipas and of course, Carlos Alcaraz emerge as the top players at the bottom of the draw. For the reigning champion it was a really good draw, away of any major threat on his way to defend his crown until deep into the second week of the tournament. Tsitsipas present and Shelton's lack of results on clay -except for that Munich final- are something that a healthy Alcaraz should handle without any major problem.

With the draw split among new contenders and established champions, Roland Garros 2025 promises intensity and unpredictability. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz appear to be on a collision course. The two players have been head and shoulders above the rest for a year now, with no major threat to them apart from a Novak Djokovic's last dance.