French Open 2026: Jannik Sinner ‘almost unbeatable’ in Carlos Alcaraz’s absence but Novak Djokovic still a threat - Alex Corretja
Published 18/05/2026 at 18:27 GMT+1
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Alex Corretja says he feels a ”very deep sadness” that Carlos Alcaraz will not be in Paris to defend the French Open crown he won in such dramatic fashion last year.
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Video credit: SNTV
Alcaraz was two sets and a break down against Jannik Sinner when he found himself at 0-40 while serving to stay in the showpiece match at Roland-Garros.
What transpired was one of the greatest comebacks in history as Alcaraz dug himself out of the deepest of holes to prevail in a five-set epic.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion plays with a unique flair and this year’s tournament will be worse off for his absence as he continues to recover from a wrist injury.
”It’s a complicated Roland-Garros for the Spaniards,” Corretja said. ”Because we always had the feeling that there was one player – almost always Rafa [Nadal] who was someone incredibly important, the one in whom all hopes were placed, thinking he could win the title.
”And then Alcaraz arrived and created the same excitement, the same enthusiasm and, above all with that adrenaline of commentating his matches, interviewing him, knowing that great things were going to happen for Spanish tennis.
”And not having Carlos here feels like… like a very deep sadness, honestly. We’ve already spent many weeks without him but now that Roland-Garros is here, that feeling of sadness and especially uncertainty becomes even stronger – wondering when he’s going to come back.”
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Video credit: TNT Sports
Alcaraz’s loss is, to an extent, Sinner’s gain. In his great rival’s absence, Sinner has already made hay, completing the set of nine ATP Masters 1000 titles with victory in front of an adoring home crowd at the Italian Open.
He joins Novak Djokovic as the only other player to achieve that feat and will arrive in the French capital as the overwhelming favourite to join another illustrious group.
Should the Italian triumph at Roland-Garros, he will complete the career Grand Slam and further etch his name into the record books.
And there appear few who can stop him. Such is his form, he has won five consecutive tournaments in the lead-up to the French Open, completing the Sunshine Double at Indian Wells and Miami and winning the three clay-court titles in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome.
Corretja thinks he will be ”almost unbeatable” when the action begins, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
”I'm absolutely impressed by Jannik, honestly,” Corretja added. ”I'm gonna start with Monte Carlo. I was already impressed there because I thought after Indian Wells [and] Miami, it was going to be difficult to adjust to the clay.
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Jannik Sinner celebrating in Madrid.
Image credit: Getty Images
”He didn't have that much time, and he ended up winning. And I think that win versus Carlitos in the final gave him so much confidence to believe that he could do so well during the clay court season.
”Then I wasn't sure if he was going to show up in Madrid, and he was there. And at the beginning, it seems like he was sort of like, ‘Okay, I'm not so sure if I want to just push so hard because maybe I need to save some energy.’ But from the quarters on, he was absolutely amazing.
”And then in Rome again. I think he is playing so good, so solid, so aggressive. He's depending so much on himself that what he's done in Rome is just unreal. It is something very difficult to understand unless you have your mind in the perfect place as Jannik is right now.
”He's in the zone. He's just focused on himself. He doesn't care about numbers. He doesn't care about the records. He doesn't care about what we say. He just cares about himself. And I think this is like a very nice learning process for him, knowing that he is the best right now and he is almost unbeatable when he is ready to play.”
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According to Corretja, the only thing that could stop Sinner on his march to glory are his recent exertions and the toll they might have taken on his body.
During his semi-final win over Daniil Medvedev in Rome, he was seen breathing heavily and erratically during changeovers, and had to have treatment on his thigh in the third set.
”I think he needs a couple of days maybe to rest and to recover and to be as fresh as he can and then just forget about what happened in the past,” he added. ”It doesn't really matter what he's done in the last few weeks. He needs just to clear up, delete everything he's done and be ready.
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”If he does that, which I think he will, he is the clear favourite, of course. But he needs to go step by step.
”It's a best of five, it's another tournament, it's another [environmental] condition. He’s got the experience, he knows how to win majors and I think he's going to be ready.
”I don't think it depends on the opponents or the way they play, it will depend more on if he is ready 100% physically and mentally, because he's been spending so much time on the court, off the court.
”The energy he's spending in the last couple of months has been amazing but this is the only thing that could prevent him not to be ready to win the Grand Slam in Paris.”
'A bit tricky' for Djokovic to be Grand Slam ready
With 24 Grand Slam titles, Novak Djokovic is still aiming for another major triumph which will take him clear of Margaret Court at the top of the all-time winners list.
However, with little on-court action since March - and a first-round exit at the Italian Open earlier this month - Corretja knows it is going to be tough for the Serbian to come up trumps at Roland-Garros.
"I think it is, well, amazing that he's still around and he's still willing to do well.
"I was happy enough to see him going to play in Rome, hopefully to get a few matches. When that didn't happen, I was thinking, 'Oh, maybe he's going to play Geneva again and try to see if he can play a few matches before Roland-Garros,' but it didn't happen.
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"So I'm not so sure how he feels physically, if he's ready or not. It's not that easy to go from almost playing nothing to playing best-of-five [sets].
"But I believe he feels like, 'Okay, as the matches will go on and the tournament will go on, I will get the rhythm that I was missing in the last, let's say, weeks, nearly months'.
"So it's a bit tricky. He's got experience, and sometimes when you play Roland-Garros, it's about experience but also the physique needs to help you.
"I don't think there are more than, let's say, five guys maybe in the draw that can beat him if he's okay and if he's ready. If he's not ready, yeah, of course you can lose to anyone because tennis is so hard nowadays."
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