Jannik Sinner has returned to the sport after three months away looking fitter and stronger and striking the ball as well as ever.
Carlos Alcaraz has been the form claycourt player in 2025, winning the Monte Carlo and Rome Masters to return to world No.2.
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They will be the top two seeds at Roland Garros after facing off in last week’s Rome final, a harbinger of what might unfold in Paris.
They’re yet to meet in a Grand Slam final, but Australian tennis legend Todd Woodbridge believes this could change in Paris – which would set one of the more highly-anticipated matches in the recent history of the sport.
“What we're seeing in the lead-up to Roland Garros is they're separating themselves from the field,” Woodbridge told ausopen.com.
“They’re starting to monopolise [the Grand Slams] the way that Roger and Rafa did, the way that Rafa and Novak did.
“As we get closer to the start of Roland Garros, the odds of anybody else outside those two winning are looking to be highly unlikely.”
Should Sinner or Alcaraz triumph in Paris, they will have combined to win the past six Grand Slam singles titles.
This would put them in fine company when considering other great men’s Grand Slam ‘duopolies’ of the Open Era. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal lead the way, collectively winning 11 straight Slam singles trophies, beginning with Nadal’s Roland Garros breakthrough 20 years ago and extending through to Federer’s 2007 US Open title.
Novak Djokovic snapped the streak with his first major title at Australian Open 2008.
CONSECUTIVE GRAND SLAMS WON BY TWO PLAYERS (Men's Open Era)
*For this purpose, players must win a minimum 2 Slams to be considered part of a duopoly
That Federer-Nadal duopoly, plus the times Nadal and Djokovic combined to collect consecutive major titles, epitomised the great rivalries of the ‘Big Three’ era that drove enormous fan interest in the sport.
The Alcaraz-Sinner rivalry is not at that level yet, but Woodbridge believes their ongoing major success, plus their ability to push each other to their limits, could have a similar impact.
"Both of them are playing on a level that I didn't think we would see after the Big Three generation; my expectation was that there'd be a drop from that level [since they started exiting],” Woodbridge observed. “But, in fact, it's gotten better.
"When you look back at the history of these rivalries, there's been a player that has stepped up. We saw Rafa, against Roger, have to improve his all-court game, his transition game and volleying, ability to get up on the baseline more often than he would have at the beginning of his career.
“Similarly, we're seeing Sinner being forced by the skill-set of Alcaraz to have to improve his transition game, his volleys. But he’s a bigger athlete – in terms of height – than Alcaraz and he's bringing more power, and Alcaraz is going to have to match that.
“These two are elevating each others' games to a unique level, but they're also motivating each other to a level that is good for the game. It gives longevity to this rivalry.”
Threats in the draw
Of course, Alcaraz and Sinner are not assured of reigning in Paris, given the depth of the field.
Alexander Zverev was a set away from winning Roland Garros last year. Casper Ruud broke through for his first Masters titles in Madrid, while Holger Rune beat Alcaraz in the Barcelona final.
Novak Djokovic lurks as a Grand Slam giant – chasing a record 25th major plus a 100th title overall – while Lorenzo Musetti, Alex de Minuar, Tommy Paul, Jack Draper and Francisco Cerundolo have all shone brightly during the claycourt swing.
"But can they beat Sinner and Alcaraz?” Woodbridge wondered.
“Does De Minaur have the power to break through over five? Paul played really well in Rome, but he's very similar to De Minaur. Ruud was absolutely obliterated by Sinner in Rome. Musetti is a very, very good player who I enjoy watching, but he has to wear them down.
"Zverev is the only one I see at this point who has the ability, in terms of absorbing their power, a big enough serve to win a lot of free points, and has been there now and probably deserves to have a Grand Slam title.
"It's hard to imagine Novak being in the equation given his preparation, but it would be naive to think that he doesn't have the ability to worry these great champions.
“If he were to win, it would be one of the greatest Grand Slam victories of his career.”
Major forces
Alcaraz is the defending champion at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, while Sinner has scooped the past three hardcourt majors. No man outside of these two has won a Slam since Djokovic’s 2023 US Open win, 20 months ago.
Victory at Roland Garros would be Sinner’s third straight major title and would put him on course for both a non-calendar Grand Slam and the Career Grand Slam.
Woodbridge was not surprised to see how quickly the Italian rediscovered form in Rome, and believes Sinner is positioned perfectly for a shot at his biggest claycourt triumph.
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"Tennis players do not get enough breaks to go away and work on their physical fitness, their game, a block of training to really improve themselves,” Woodbridge said, “and I think you look at him coming back and you go: he looks stronger and fitter. It's been somewhat of a blessing for him to be able to get this time.
"In terms of enhancing his reputation as one of the Grand Slam-winning legends, he's now got this chance to really separate himself at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
“And really, the only guy that's got that dynamic game to be able to halt Sinner is Alcaraz.”
Alcaraz has done so the past four times he has played Sinner; his 7-6(5) 6-1 victory in the Rome final improved his tour-level record over the Italian to 7-4.
He heads to Paris with 27 wins from his past 29 claycourt matches and five consecutive finals on clay. He currently holds the Roland Garros, Monte Carlo and Rome titles – three of the sport’s four biggest claycourt trophies – and over the past four seasons boasts an 87.5 per cent winning rate on the surface.
While Alcaraz’s numbers are superior, Woodbridge believes Sinner will have learned plenty from his five-set defeat to the Spaniard in last year’s semifinals at Court Philippe Chatrier.
"I think it's a 50-50 proposition of who goes in as favourite,” he said.
“Alcaraz has the best claycourt base, given the consistency of his results, yet Sinner is fresher.
“Alcaraz was somewhat fortunate to get through [last year’s semifinal] in five after being down two sets to one. I think there’s the experience of what that match gave Jannik, plus a different pressure in defending for Carlos this year at Roland Garros.
“I think that Sinner actually has a bit of a free shot at winning this – being the world No.1 and with the freshness he brings, plus the expectation that sits on Alcaraz, is maybe going to give Sinner the upper hand.”