The French Open begins Sunday, and though 14-time champion Rafael Nadal and defending champion Novak Djokovic are both playing, questions abound on whether either will challenge for the title. On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek has been looking unstoppable, but can she close the deal? We asked our experts to weigh in.
Who will win the men’s singles title?
Pam Shriver: Rafa Nadal. I am picking the 14-time champion because for one more time I can pick the greatest clay-court player in history, and because there are too many question marks surrounding the real favorites on the men’s side. Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Djokovic all have too many questions to feel comfortable picking any of them.
Do I really think Nadal can win his 15th Roland Garros title? No, but Nadal for 20 years has done countless things I thought not possible. Even with an impossibly hard first-round match versus Alexander Zverev, I still have to write in Nadal’s name one more time as my winner. Nadal’s first-round opponent is probably your real favorite on paper, before the draw starts.
Brad Gilbert: Feels like the men’s field, for the first time in 20 years, is very open, and it’s extremely difficult to pick a winner, whereas in past years, Nadal has absolutely dominated. Djokovic hasn’t won a tournament in 2024 so far and would normally be the overwhelming favorite at every Slam. Add in the injury concerns for Sinner and Alcaraz, who are hopefully both healthy now.
The fact that Nadal is unseeded is wild, as is the fact that he is playing Zverev in the first round. I think it will be two tournaments: The first week, we’ll see how many top seeds get through, and then a second-week tournament from there. There might be good opportunities for Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Zverev if he gets through Nadal. I could easily see something very unpredictable happening 17 days from now.
Bill Connelly: If you’re Zverev, Tsitsipas, Ruud or Holger Rune, or anyone else hoping that the top tier slips up at some point and gives you a shot at an actual Slam title, your odds might be as good right now as they’ve been in quite a while (or will be moving forward). Now’s your chance.
I’m not picking any of those guys, however. If Sinner hadn’t hurt his hip, I’d have kept riding that wave. Instead, I’ll give this Djokovic guy a shot. I hear he’s pretty good in best-of-five matches.
Tom Hamilton: This has to be the most open field in a while. Sinner comes…
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