Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud: Should they be taken seriously for Roland Garros as big names falter?

As the Madrid Open begins, there is a bit of a question mark surrounding men's tennis going into Roland Garros. But could Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud be the alarming answer to the question after recent form and their clay court prowess.

Heading into the Madrid Open, aside from Jannik Sinner who is wholly untested on this surface, Ruud and Tsitsipas have been the best players in the world right now which is a staggering thought given that both have dropped off a cliff over the past 1`8 months and also the top 10. Both having had successful tenures inside the tennis elite up until that juncture. But why the potential Roland Garros shock?

The facts remain that others around are faltering. Similar to in women's tennis albeit with two of the top four seemingly being better than the rest, it is not Aryna Sabalenka or Coco Gauff who are giving themselves runs at the top. It is the current queen of tennis in Iga Swiatek and perhaps her closest rival aside from illness playing its part in Elena Rybakina. But there was also the Danielle Collins story as a player who has been there or thereabouts found form.

It has been similar in the ATP as of late with Ruud and Tsitsipas joining the likes of Grigor Dimitrov for instance in finding form again and at an alarming rate. Tsitsipas won the Monte-Carlo Masters at a tournament that he feels at home at against Ruud. But instead of putting it down to liking the tournament as he does, he went on to reach the final in Barcelona. There he lost to Ruud who avenged his loss at Monte-Carlo albeit Djokovic is a factor as he sealed his biggest win then floundered. But this is a familiar situation from Ruud all the way down to Luca Nardi.

Speaking of Djokovic though, he doesn't have any semblance of form. He lost to Jannik Sinner, Luca Nardi and Ruud as well as Alex de Minaur this year with a few of those being very questionable. Droves of reports have aimed to stick the boot in as such and say that Djokovic is finished. But thus is his fairly tempestuous schedule where either he plays constantly or not for three months. He won't play again till Rome and could lose his World No.1 spot.

Sinner showed green shoots at Monte-Carlo after being the standout player this season. But at the same time, he doesn't have the pedigree that even Tsitsipas or Ruud do on this surface and is very much unsure. It would be very Sinner for him to turn up at Roland Garros in his new guise post sick in the bin in Beijing and win it. He could well do so given the current crop.

Carlos Alcaraz for instance has gone from starring at Indian Wells to being a doubt. The Spaniard should relish this part of the season and despite skipping Monte-Carlo, which is a usual path of the course for the Wimbledon champion, he showed concerns after. His right forearm wasn't ready and despite showing good signs so far in practice this week, he will be behind even Tsitsipas and Ruud. He also showed in a South American swing which truthfully was full of fodder compared to his ranking that being the top dog or chasing down isn't really his forte.

Also another factor in the main sits with Rafael Nadal. He despite not showing his best form for years will be the poster child of this clay court season. Expectation will be thrust on him despite his injuries and also his low expectation himself. This may allow others to thrive.

Whether that is Tsitsipas or Ruud or even the likes of Alcaraz, Sinner and even Djokovic. The latter is used to being heavily discussed and compared to others. But he won't be the star attraction which may help or hinder his case. A sport heading into unknown territory going into Roland Garros. Also others to factor include Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev despite him loathing clay and even Holger Rune despite being royally thumped by Jan-Lennard Struff in Munich.

But for both Tsitsipas and Ruud, it is a matter of peaking at the right time. As alluded to, both fell out of favour and the questioning was would they come back from their ranking slump. They have though fairly immediately.

Tsitsipas at the French Open has not lost before the fourth round since 2018 and has reached everything but winning it. While Ruud has reached the final over the past two years at Roland Garros after not making it past the third round in any of his previous attempts. So very much two players adept to the conditions.

This is why both should be put in the mix for Roland Garros realistically. But there is the factor of peaking too soon for both with other Grand Slams being famous for having a myriad of warm-ups where players often get touted and predicted then lose opening round. But given the lack of clay court specialists being fit and also Sinner being the only one really in form, it could present an opportunity. Whether for Tsitsipas, Ruud or even Zverev, the most open Roland Garros in years is upon us in a few weeks and both could certainly be a factor.