PARIS \u2013 Jannik Sinner won’t have the crowd on his side when he starts his quest for a career Grand Slam at the French Open.<\/p>\n
Sinner was on Thursday drawn a French opponent in the first round \u2014 Clement Tabur, ranked a career-high 165th. Tabur received the wild card vacated by former champion Stan Wawrinka, who gained a late automatic entry.<\/p>\n
With two-time reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz out injured<\/a>, Sinner is the overwhelming men’s favorite on the red clay of Roland Garros, where play starts on Sunday.<\/p>\n The Italian is unbeaten in three months. He’s won 29 straight matches and dropped just three sets. The French Open is the only major Sinner hasn\u2019t won. Sinner had three match points in last year’s final but Alcaraz prevailed in an epic<\/a> match.<\/p>\n In the women’s draw, Coco Gauff<\/a> is trying to become just the third woman to successfully defend the Roland Garros title this century after Justine Henin and Iga Swi\u0105tek. Gauff will start her campaign against fellow American Taylor Townsend, a doubles specialist.<\/p>\n Gauff said at the draw she was \u201cas ready as you can be.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI feel I had a good tournament in Rome, similar to the preparation I had last year, so I feel really ready.\u201d<\/p>\n In the absence of Alcaraz, who will also miss Wimbledon<\/a>, Sinner has claimed all three clay Masters trophies in Monte Carlo<\/a>, Madrid<\/a>, and Rome<\/a>. Sinner has the fifth longest winning run in the ATP Tour era (since 1990). Novak Djokovic has the record of 43 straight wins in 2010-11.<\/p>\n With his historic Rome title \u2014 first homegrown men’s champion in 50 years \u2014 Sinner became the second man after Djokovic to win all nine Masters, the biggest tournaments outside the Grand Slams<\/a>.<\/p>\n Djokovic continues to chase an unprecedented 25th major title. But the Roland Garros champion from 2016, 2021, and 2023 is in Paris with only one match on clay<\/a> this season and only three tournaments all year because of a shoulder injury. The 38-year-old will take on Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round. Djokovic couldn’t meet Sinner until the final.<\/p>\n No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev, still looking for his first major crown after making it to the 2024 final in Paris, will be up against another local player, Benjamin Bonzi.<\/p>\n Home favorite Arthur Fils, the highest-ranked French player at No. 19, opens against Wawrinka<\/a> in a mouthwatering contest.<\/p>\n Gauff aiming for back to back<\/p>\n Gauff\u2019s first Roland Garros title<\/a> came with a victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the final a year ago.<\/p>\n Just like last year, Gauff was the runner-up at the Italian Open<\/a>, losing in the final to Elina Svitolina. She is No. 4 and seeded to meet No. 1 Sabalenka in the semifinals.<\/p>\n While Sabalenka remains unbeatable at times on hard courts, she is still perfecting her game on clay. She was upset by American Hailey Baptiste<\/a> in the Madrid Open quarterfinals and lost in the third round at the Italian Open to 36-year-old Sorana Cirstea<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sabalenka appeared visibly bothered by lower back pain in Rome. Her first-round opponent is Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, a Spaniard ranked 51st.<\/p>\n Elena Rybakina, ranked No. 2 and this year\u2019s Australian Open champion<\/a>, is in the same half of the draw as No. 3 Swi\u0105tek.<\/p>\n Rybakina has mixed results on clay. She has reached the French quarterfinals twice. She starts against Veronika Erjavec of Slovenia.<\/p>\n Swi\u0105tek, the four-time French Open champion, lost to Svitolina in the Rome semifinals and is still reshaping her game under new coach Francisco Roig,<\/a> who used to work with Rafael Nadal. Swi\u0105tek\u2019s 26-match winning streak<\/a> at Roland Garros ended in the semifinals last year with a loss to Sabalenka. She opens against Emerson Jones of Australia, a wild card.<\/p>\n Svitolina, who is from Ukraine<\/a>, claimed the Rome title<\/a> for her first WTA 1000 trophy in eight years \u2014 and is back in the top 10 after a maternity leave. But she\u2019s never been past the semifinals of a Grand Slam, and never past the quarterfinals at the French Open. Svitolina takes on Anna Bondar in the first round.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n