French Open 2025: Djokovic Faces Sinner Hurdle in Title Quest

Djokovic names Sinner as the biggest obstacle at Roland Garros

Novak Djokovic says world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is the biggest obstacle at Roland Garros as he chases a record 25th Grand Slam title.

With Carlos Alcaraz out injured, Djokovic names Sinner as the player to beat and prepares for a French Open run with minimal clay-court warm-up...

 

Novak Djokovic said on Friday that world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is the player to beat at the French Open. The Italian heads into Roland Garros on the verge of completing a career Grand Slam.

At 39, Djokovic is aiming for a 25th Grand Slam title. A win would move him clear as the player with the most major singles titles in men’s tennis history.

 

Sinner arrives in Paris with a 29-match winning streak and six straight Masters 1000 titles. His run has put him in a strong position at the only Grand Slam Djokovic has not yet claimed.

Djokovic Praises Sinner’s All-Surface Dominance

“He’s achieved something incredible with his team,” Djokovic said of Sinner. “We’ve talked about how impressive he is on every surface.” Sinner became only the second man after Djokovic to win all nine Masters 1000 events after taking the three clay Masters titles this season.

“Being one of the two guys that have managed in history to be the only ones to win the Golden Masters, I know how challenging that is and how difficult it is.

“So I want to congratulate him for that because it's quite an achievement and he's really young, he still has a lot of time ahead of him.”

Djokovic, the third seed, and Sinner, 24, landed on opposite sides of the draw, meaning they can only meet in the final on June 7th.

With two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz out injured, Djokovic looks like the most likely player to end Sinner’s run. The Serb has reached at least the semifinals in each of the last five Grand Slams.

“He's going for his Golden Slam as well here if I'm not mistaken. He's maybe in the form of his life, and without Carlos being here also increases his chances even more of claiming more Grand Slam titles,” Djokovic said.

“So we're all here to try to win against him and prevent him from taking more titles.”

Belief Remains Unchanged Despite Alcaraz’s Exit

  

Djokovic, who fell to Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open final in January, called the Spaniard’s withdrawal “a big blow for the tournament.” He said it wouldn’t change how he approaches the French Open.

“I don't think it does significantly change, to be honest, because I have been through challenging times with my body in the last, you know, six to eight months,” he said.

“If I'm able to somehow maintain that level of freshness and progress, then I feel like I have always a very good chance.

“I have proven that in Australia this year where I was close to winning another Slam... I always have that belief in me when I'm on the court.”

Despite winning the title here three times, Djokovic arrives at his 22nd Roland Garros with minimal clay-court preparation this season.

Since losing to Jack Draper in the Indian Wells round of 16 in March, he has played just one match on clay. That came in Rome, where he was beaten in the opening round by Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic.

Djokovic said the lack of court time wasn’t his decision.

“I wanted to play more, but my body was not allowing me,” he said. “I was going through the rehabilitation process for my (shoulder) injury. So after Indian Wells, it was just not possible for me to compete for several months.”

Novak is back on Court Philippe-Chatrier 💫#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/GXxUJB68v0

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 19, 2026

He said he played in Rome purely to get matches under his belt ahead of his latest push for a 25th Grand Slam title.

“Really wanted to go to Rome to give it a shot and try and, you know, see how I feel,” he explained.

“I was far from being ready to compete, but still, I needed at least that one match just to have the score called by a chair umpire and have experience of the nerves before I eventually come to Roland Garros, which at that point I didn't know if I was going to be able to play or not.”