French Open Men’s Singles 2024 – Five Main Contenders
The second Grand Slam of the season takes the players to Paris for the French Open Men’s Singles, where world number one Novak Djokovic will be bidding to defend his crown and claim a record-setting 25th major title.
With 14-time Roland Garros hero Rafael Nadal showing signs of decline having been plagued by injury, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are two elite names that may be standing in Djokovic’s way.
Elsewhere, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas are enjoying fine clay-court campaigns and it could be a battle between that quintet in the scrap for silverware.
French Open Men’s Singles: Djokovic hoping he holds the aces
Djokovic has long had to play second fiddle to Nadal at the French Open but he has lifted the title in three of the last eight seasons, while also finishing runner-up on four occasions since 2012.
The Serb has failed to make the quarter-final at Roland Garros only once since 2006 and is going to be a leading candidate in his title defence, although there are some concerns.
The 36-year-old has played in only four events since the Australian Open in January, when he was beaten in the semi-finals by Sinner. Two of those events have come during the clay-court campaign and he lost against Casper Ruud in the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters while also enduring a surprise defeat to Alejandro Tabilo in the last 32 in Rome.
Djokovic tends to save his best for Grand Slam competition and could raise the bar but there is better value to be had than him at 3.00.
French Open Men’s Singles: Alcaraz heads the title betting
Alcaraz is set to feature in the French Open Men’s Singles for only the fourth time in his career and his best effort came last year when he was beaten in a four-set semi-final by Djokovic.
In time, Alcaraz may take the mantle over from compatriot Nadal and there is nothing wrong with his clay-court pedigree.
However, the 21-year-old was beaten in the Madrid quarter-final by Andrey Rublev earlier this month and, having withdrawn from the Monte Carlo Masters, that is his only warm-up event he has opted for ahead of the French Open, which means there are grounds to take him on at 2.35.
French Open Men’s Singles: Sinner faces a race against time
Sinner claimed his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open earlier this season but he may face a difficult challenge to follow up in the French equivalent – French Open Men’s Singles.
That is because the Italian withdrew prior to his Madrid quarter-final with Felix Auger Aliassime with a hip injury and that made him opt out of competition in Rome.
So Sinner has missed three weeks of vital action and is in a race against time to be fit, which is why he has been easy to overlook at 3.80.
French Open Men’s Singles: Zverev peaking at the right moment
Zverev still awaits a first Grand Slam crown but the German has been a model of consistency in the showpiece events and will head to Roland Garros as one of the fancied runners.
The 27-year-old has made the semi-finals in Paris in each of the last three seasons and he returns full of confidence following a recent title triumph in Rome, where he dropped only one set across his six matches.
Zverev also made the last four at the Australian Open in January and he was runner-up at the US Open in 2020, so knows he has what it takes to challenge for top honours. At 5.40, he is going to have his army of supporters.
French Open Men’s Singles: Tsitsipas rediscovering his top form
After finishing runner-up to Djokovic in the 2021 final, many may have felt Tsitsipas would have been able to build on that, and although it has been far from immediate, this could now be his time.
The Greek star, having also reached the final of the Australian Open before being defeated by Djokovic last year, is threatening to challenge for Grand Slam glory and simply excels on clay.
Tsitsipas recorded success at the Monte Carlo Masters in April and then built on that with a runner-up effort on the slow courts of Barcelona, all of which suggests he is back to his best and makes him a strong contender at 6.20.
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