Scouting Report: Djokovic, Alcaraz, Sinner among favourites at wide-open Roland Garros

Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner — the top three players in the PIF ATP Rankings — enter Roland Garros at the head of the 128-player field. But all three favourites face uncertainty in their games on the cusp of the clay-court major, making the Paris showcase one of the most wide-open Grand Slams in recent memory.

Rafael Nadal, with concerns of his own, will bid for a lengthy likely farewell appearance at the event he has won 14 times. Recent ATP Masters 1000 champions Alexander Zverev (Rome), Andrey Rublev (Madrid) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (Monte-Carlo) are among the challengers seeking their first major crown, along with two-time Roland Garros finalist Casper Ruud. Daniil Medvedev, a 2021 quarter-finalist, bids for his second Grand Slam trophy as he continues to grow into his game on the dirt.

ATPTour.com breaks down 10 things to watch on the Paris clay.

1) Rafa's goodbye?: Nadal faced a challenge to even be fit to play Roland Garros. Now he must meet the challenge of a nightmare first-round draw against the fourth-seeded Zverev. The Spaniard has struggled with injury this season but managed to play three events on the ATP Tour's European swing, including a run to the Madrid fourth round. His 11th Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Zverev (Nadal leads 7-3) will be their first meeting since the 2022 Roland Garros semi-finals, when Zverev suffered a gruesome ankle injury that forced him to retire before a second-set tie-break — with three hours of epic tennis already played.

2) Djokovic's title defense: Djokovic unexpectedly took a wild card into the ATP 250 in Geneva in the hopes of playing himself into form ahead of the year's second major. He picked up two wins, but a semi-final defeat to Tomas Machac on Friday leaves plenty of questions for the Serbian to answer in Paris. After dealing with an upset stomach in Geneva, Djokovic will look to avoid an on-court upset against wild card and home favourite Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the opening round. As defending champion, he must reach the semi-finals to have a chance of retaining the No. 1 PIF ATP Ranking, with Sinner hot on his heels.

3) Alcaraz on the mend: Continuing the theme of uncertainty for the top seeds, Alcaraz will compete for the first time in more than three weeks when he takes on lucky loser J.J. Wolf in the first round. The Spaniard, who pulled out of Rome, said he is no longer feeling pain in his right forearm but still has the issue on his mind when he hits his forehand. Seeking his first Roland Garros title, Alcaraz hopes to work his way into the form that saw him claim the Indian Wells title earlier this season.

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4) Sinner's shot for No. 1: After winning his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, Sinner enters Paris with a golden opportunity to claim the top spot in the PIF ATP Rankings from Djokovic. He would rise to No. 1 by reaching the final, or if Djokovic fails to advance to the semis. Like Alcaraz, Sinner has not competed since Madrid. A hip injury forced the Italian to withdraw ahead of the quarter-finals in the Spanish capital and miss his home event in Rome. While he is feeling better health-wise, he remains concerned about his fitness ahead of an opening matchup against Christopher Eubanks.

5) Zverev's fine form meets ultimate test: Zverev enters Paris as the ATP Tour's in-form player, having won Rome with the loss of just one set. The German surrendered just two first-serve points (37/39) in the final against Nicolas Jarry, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Expecting a vintage Nadal performance in the opening round, Zverev knows he will need to remain at his best to knock off the 37-year-old.

6) Can Tsitsipas, Rublev build on Masters 1000 crowns?: Tsitsipas' best clay results have traditionally come at Monte-Carlo and Roland Garros. After overcoming a difficult start to the 2024 season, the Greek pushed back into the Top 10 by winning his third Monte-Carlo title. Now he will bid to match or better his run to the 2021 Roland Garros final, when he led Djokovic by two sets to love. Rublev, Monte-Carlo champ in 2023, won a clay Masters 1000 for the second straight year by taking the Madrid title, beating Alcaraz along the way. Two of his 10 Grand Slam quarter-final appearances have come at Roland Garros, in 2020 and 2022.

7) Ruud's quick turnaround: A three-time major finalist, including each of the past two years at Roland Garros, Casper Ruud reached the Monte-Carlo final and won Barcelona to kick off the clay season. After early exits in Madrid and Rome, the Norwegian will finish his ATP 250 campaign in Geneva on Saturday before making his way to Paris.

8) #NextGenATP stars Fils, Michelsen, Van Assche: Frenchman Arthur Fils leads the Jeddah hopefuls in Paris as the 29th seed and will open against 23-year-old Matteo Arnaldi. Italy's Arnaldi has won both previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings between the two stars, following a five-set win at the 2023 US Open with a straight-sets result in Miami. American Alex Michelsen will make his Roland Garros debut against 11th seed Alex de Minaur, while home hope Luca Van Assche meets Denis Shapovalov in the first round. 

9) Humbert, Mannarino lead French charge: Ugo Humbert and Adrian Mannarino join Fils to make it three seeded Frenchmen in the singles draw. Both the 17th seed Humbert and the 22nd seed Mannarino are bidding to reach the third round for the first time at their home Slam. Other Frenchmen in the draw include Gael Monfils, Arthur Rinderknech and Hugo Gaston.

10) Doubles No. 1s seek first major crown: Top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, the joint No. 1s in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings, will bid for their first Grand Slam title after winning Rome. The Croatian-American duo of Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek are seeded fourth for their title defense, while this year's Australian Open champions Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden are seeded second.