As Nadal observes Roland-Garros from the stands, Alcaraz and Sinner take centre stage

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain plays a forehand against Jannik Sinner of Italy during the Men's Singles Final match on Day Fourteen of the Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2025 at Foro Italico on May 18, 2025 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

By Craig Ray

21 May 2025

Rafael Nadal will watch the French Open in 2025 as world No 1 Jannik Sinner and No 2 Carlos Alcaraz look to be on a collision course in the men’s final.

In the past 20 years only five men have won the singles title at Roland-Garros in the era of Rafael Nadal dominance on the clay of Court Philippe-Chatrier.

In 2025 there hasn’t been a better moment for a new name to be engraved on the Coupe des Mousquetaires as men’s tennis continues its transition in the post-Big Three world.

In the 20 editions played since Nadal won the first of his 14 titles at Roland-Garros in 2005, only Novak Djokovic has won the men’s singles more than once. He has an impressive three titles. There was a time when winning three editions of any one of tennis’s Grand Slams was considered spectacular.

Roger Federer (2009), Stan Wawrinka (2015) and Carlos Alcaraz (2024) are the only other players to have won the title in the past 20 years.

The way Nadal, Djokovic and Federer collected tennis’ biggest titles in never-before-seen numbers, unfairly changed the definition of success.

Federer won his only French Open in 2009, when an out-of-sorts Nadal lost in the fourth round to Sweden’s Robin Söderling, opening the draw for the rest of the field.

For Federer, that victory completed the career Grand Slam. Yet, due to the ridiculously high standards he and his fellow Big Three set, it elevated expectations and changed definitions of success. By comparison with Federer’s other exploits, his lone Roland-Garros title appears mediocre. It’s not.

Roland-Garros Sinner Jannik Sinner plays a forehand against Carlos Alcaraz during the Italian Open final in Rome on 18 May 2025. (Photo: Tullio Puglia / Getty Images)

Carlos Alcaraz plays a backhand against Jannik Sinner during the 2025 Italian Open final. (Photo: Dan Istitene / Getty Images)

The greatest

He just happened to overlap with the greatest clay court player of any generation, who not only had the technique to dominate on the sport’s slowest surface, but the relentless drive to keep coming back for more.

Nadal never tired of winning at Roland-Garros. He never reached saturation point.

After winning one title, he wanted two, then he wanted five, and 10 and so on. His attitude as much as his skill on the dust, crushed spirits, even of the sport’s greatest competitors.

If Nadal’s absolute greatness and domination at Roland-Garros over nearly two decades could be distilled into one bite-sized chunk, it was in 2020.

To be more precise, it was the first two sets of the 2020 final against Djokovic that encapsulated Nadal’s absolute supremacy on the surface.

Rafael Nadal serves against Casper Ruud during the men’s singles final of the French Open at Roland Garros on 5 June 2022. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

By the end of the match, Djokovic had a hollow look in his eyes. As the owner of 17 Grand Slam titles at the time, in a year where he had not lost one of his previous 37 completed matches, and needing the French Open to complete the career Grand Slam for a second time, the 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 crushing was chastening.

Read more: Does it matter if Djokovic is the GOAT or not? It’s a subjective exercise regardless of the stats

Losing, even if occasionally for prime Djokovic, was part of the sport. But being humiliated was unheard of.

Nadal took the first set 6-0, inflicting only the fourth “bagel” on Djokovic in his professional career.

But what made that set unique (and the second) was that Djokovic played brilliantly. He hit shots that were winners against any other player, only against Nadal he had to hit three/four winners to earn a point.

It was clay court tennis of a staggeringly high quality that, arguably, has not been reached again. Nadal touched perfection that day as he won his 100th match at Roland-Garros. At the time Nadal also matched Federer’s 20 career Grand Slam titles.

Jannik Sinner serves against Carlos Alcaraz during the Italian Open final. (Photo: Dan Istitene / Getty Images)

Carlos Alcaraz returns the ball to Jannik Sinner during the Italian Open final in Rome. (Photo: Dan Istitene / Getty Images)

New guard

Nadal is gone now, but never forgotten. In 2024, after a struggle with injury to be fit in time for the French Open, he bowed out in the first round.

The vagaries of the draw and his unseeded position after missing so much tennis, meant he had to face No 4 seed Alexander Zverev in the first round.

For once, Nadal was no match and went out in straight sets. Zverev went all the way to the final before losing to Alcaraz in a tough five-setter. In a strange way it underlined how brilliant Nadal was, that even at 38 and physically diminished, he still put up a fight against a man 11 years his junior, who himself was good enough to come within a few points of winning the championship.

Nadal’s Roland-Garros record is 112 wins, four losses, 14 titles. Staggering.

Alcaraz, who won his maiden French Open in 2024 at only 21, is the hot favourite again this year.

He underlined his credentials with a sensational win over world No 1 Italian Jannik Sinner at the Masters 1000 Italian Open last week. The Rome tournament is just a rung below the Grand Slams and given Sinner’s form coming into the final, after blowing away Tommy Paul in the semis, Alcaraz’s superb win sent a strong message of intent.

“Of course, winning tournaments, lifting trophies gives you a lot of confidence coming to the next tournament,” Alcaraz said after his Rome victory.

“Masters 1000s give you a lot of confidence in yourself just to know that you are on the right path, in the right way, playing great tennis. So yeah, I’m just excited about what’s come for me. It means I’m doing the right things and I’m going to keep doing the right things, the right work, just coming to Paris.”

Alcaraz’s 7-6(5) 6-1 victory ended Sinner’ 26-match winning streak and gave Alcaraz his fourth successive win over the Italian, taking their head-to-head 7-4 in the Spaniard’s favour. Admittedly it was Sinner’s first tournament after a three-month doping suspension.

Sinner (23), and Alcaraz (22) will be the youngest top seeds since Federer and Nadal at the 2006 US Open. Sinner is No 1 and Alcaraz No 2.

“The level he (Sinner) has played in this tournament is insane after three months without playing, without any tournament,” Alcaraz said after Rome.

“He’s the best player in the world. It doesn’t matter that he was out of the tour for three months. Every tournament he’s playing, he plays great.

“The numbers are there. I mean, he wins almost every match he plays. That’s why I'm even more focused when I play against him.

“If I don’t play at my best, 10 out of 10, it’s going to be impossible to beat him. That’s why I’m more focused when I’m playing against him, or I feel a little bit different when I’m going to face him than other players.

“He’s going to be a really dangerous player in Paris. I’m pretty sure he’s going to feel much better in Roland-Garros.”

Alcaraz also won in Monte Carlo on the clay and was a losing finalist to Holger Rune in Barcelona last month.

Sinner, of course, won the Australian Open to claim the season’s first Grand Slam and has shown with his performances in Rome that he has quickly found his clay court feet.

“I played the maximum of matches here in Rome, which is very good,” Sinner said after losing to Alcaraz.

“Now I have one week off, which is good for me. A couple of days to switch off mentally, and then being ready for an even more important tournament.” DM

The 2025 French Open starts on 25 May at 11am.

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The greatest

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