Jannik Sinner is the overwhelming favourite to win this year’s Roland Garros, drawing comparisons with a certain Rafael Nadal.

The King of Clay won the French Open title a record 14 times during his glittering career, with the Spaniard asserting a never-before-seen dominance over the rest of the ATP Tour on the dirt.

Nadal was able to beat his top rivals time and time again in the French capital, but heading into the 2026 edition, Sinner’s path to victory appears much less treacherous.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is injured, and Novak Djokovic, who beat the Italian in the Australian Open semi-finals, has played just once on clay this season.

Regardless, Sinner is flying high at the top of the rankings, with the 24-year-old winning five straight Masters 1000 titles this year. Now, Andy Roddick has made a telling assertion about the four-time major winner.

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He said on the latest episode of Served, “I’m not saying he’s [Sinner] as good on clay as Rafa. I will never utter that sentence probably for anyone for, for like a long time. 

“And I think he’s as big of a favourite going into this tournament based on the form, the health of the field as Rafa was in a given year.

“I think I can defend that without people thinking I’m taking crazy pills.”

While comparisons to Nadal are premature, especially as Sinner is yet to win a French Open title, his current level of dominance is remarkable.

After previously never triumphing at a clay court Masters, Sinner has now won three on the spin in Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome.

He is on a record 34-match winning streak at this level and became the youngest player to complete the career Golden Masters, seven years quicker than Djokovic did.

It seems the only thing that is most likely to stop Sinner from triumphing in Paris is himself or scorching hot temperatures. While Daniil Medvedev pushed him close in Rome, the world No 1 prevailed despite struggling with exhaustion.

Now, he will be able to recharge his batteries and make a big assault on the last major he has not won.

WHAT NEXT? French Open: Novak Djokovic warned that experience alone may not save him