Frances Tiafoe believes ‘everyone is capable’ of beating Jannik Sinner at the French Open and says players must stop placing the Italian on a ‘different stratosphere’ if they want to cause an upset.

Sinner arrives in Paris on a remarkable 29-match winning streak, having captured all five Masters 1000 titles contested in 2026, including a clean sweep of the clay-court events in Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome.

The Italian is now targeting a maiden French Open crown to complete the Career Grand Slam and enters Roland Garros as the overwhelming favourite.

At the Italian Open, Sinner also became just the second man in history to win all nine Masters 1000 tournaments – after Novak Djokovic did so in 2018.

The world No 1 is due to begin his French Open campaign against French wildcard Clement Tabur next week.

Despite Sinner’s dominance, Tiafoe believes the top players are still capable of stopping him if they approach matches with greater belief.

“Yeah, I mean, I mean, look, I mean, he’s hell of a player,” said the American during his pre-tournament press conference.

“I’m not gonna sit here and, continue to continue to put him on a pedestal.

“He’s a hell of a player, obviously he’s doing monumental things, but I think, you know, we got to believe that you can do the ultimate task and beat him.

“I mean, everyone’s capable, especially top guys, guys are capable, but, I think the biggest thing is to kind of get him out of his high horse mentally.

“I think we’re all kind of putting him on a different stratosphere, which he is, but you kind of kind of create a little bit of illusion to get you good, to get you to get over the line.”

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Tiafoe has previously beaten Sinner, doing so at the 2021 ATP 500 event in Vienna, though he trails 5-1 in their overall head-to-head record.

Sinner’s status as favourite has only increased following the withdrawal of two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.

The Spaniard had been expected to begin another campaign in Paris before suffering a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open, ruling him out until at least the end of July.

When asked whether Alcaraz’s absence creates a greater opportunity for the rest of the field, Tiafoe rejected the suggestion.

“Not gonna do that though, man,” responded Tiafoe. “Shout out Carlos a really good friend of mine. The game needs him, it hurts that he’s out, you know, here and Wimbledon, but, you know, I’m not gonna, you know, rag him on tour like that.

“You’ve got a ton of great players, and especially a guy like me, I’m not losing to Carlos and Sinner every week. There’s a bunch of guys that have been losing to, so, I’m not gonna sit here and say there’s a huge opportunity.

“Is that a fact? Sure, but I’m not gonna sit here and say, ‘Oh, Carlos is out, oh, man, it’s wide open.’ That’s not the case. That’s not the case. So, yeah, the game, everybody is really strong.”

Tiafoe will open his French Open campaign against Eliot Spizzirri, who pushed Sinner to four sets at this year’s Australian Open.