FOr nearly two decades, a champion other than Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros has been as elusive as a shadow at high noon on the solar equinox. Since making his debut in 2005, the veteran Spaniard has won the competition a record 14 times, losing just three of his 115 matches. The occasional rebellion against his ironclad regime, mainly from Novak Djokovic, was crushed by the conspicuous threat; Nadal leads the Serb 8-2 on Paris clay. French Open 2023, however, is set for a change Nadal will not play in this tournament for the first time since 2004 He has been out since January with a hip injury. There are signs that a power change is about to happen in men’s tennis in general. Together roger federer retired And Djokovic out of form, The once vice-like grip of the ‘Big Three’ is the weakest. Djokovic is the two-time champion and will be motivated to break a tie with Nadal at 22 majors. But Carlos Alcaraz, the world No. 1 and winner of French Open tune-up events in Barcelona and Madrid, is set to take center stage. The 20-year-old has already established her Slam-winning credentials (2022 US Open), and a follow-up will only embellish her status as the sport’s chosen one.
Challenging them will be the Scandinavian pair of No. 4 Kasper Ruud, who lost the 2022 summit clash to Nadal, and No. 6 Holger Rune, a recent finalist in both Monte Carlo and Rome. Daniil Medvedev has developed a newfound love for the red dirt after his success in Rome last week, but the Russian No. 2 is the best wild card alongside Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev. In contrast – and in a departure from the past – it is the women’s field that takes on a settled form with Inga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina forming a dominant troika. He has won the last four majors and the Roland-Garros preparatory tournament in Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome. If anything, Swiatek is the world No. 1, a two-time winner in Paris and a three-time Major champion, the first among equals. Tunisia’s Onnes Jabour, runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2022, is returning from a calf injury, but her victories in Madrid last year and Charleston in early April proved she is a real contender. So is Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic, the 2021 singles and doubles champion. All this suggests that there is no clear favourite, but no dark horse either.