French Open Odds: A new favourite emerges after shock Sinner exit at Roland-Garros

Jannik Sinner’s third-round exit at Roland-Garros on Thursday has sent shockwaves through the world of tennis and left punters scratching their heads over who to back next for this year’s title.

Below are the updated French Open Odds for the men’s singles as I analyse the latest contenders to Carlos Alcaraz’s throne…

Four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner was 6-3, 6-2, 5-1 up on World No. 56 Juan Manuel Cerundolo when he called for the physio on Court Philippe-Chatrier, appearing to suffer from cramps and dizziness.

The World No. 1 never recovered, going on to lose 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 1-6, 0-6, and with two-time defending champion Alcaraz also out of the picture, having pulled out of this year’s Roland-Garros and Wimbledon due to a wrist injury, the race is now wide open for the rest of the field.

So, who is now favourite to win the 2026 French Open, and who else is a contender to take the title?

Alexander Zverev @ 2/1

World No. 3 Alexander Zverev, a three-time runner-up at majors, is now favourite to win this year’s French Open and scoop his first-ever Grand Slam title.

The 29-year-old German, who lost the 2024 final in five sets to Alcaraz, has been in good form this year, despite failing to pick up a title, with Sinner knocking him out of four of the last six tournaments he has entered.

Without Sinner or Alcaraz, who beat him in a titanic semi-final at the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, the door is wide open for Zverev to win his first major.

Zverev has eased into the third round, beating Benjamin Bonzi and Tomas Machac in straight sets, but punters should take into account a 2-0 semi-final defeat to Flavio Cobolli in Munich last month and a last-16 defeat to Luciano Darderi in Rome earlier this month when he was bagelled in the final set.

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Novak Djokovic @ 7/2

After losing the Australian Open final to Alcaraz on 1 February, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, who won his third and most recent French Open in 2023, took the rest of the month off before returning at Indian Wells, where he was beaten in the last 16 by Jack Draper.

The Serbian spent another couple of months on the sidelines before making his comeback in Rome earlier this month, suffering a swift exit to 20-year-old Dino Prizmic, but he’s looked solid in his opening couple of matches at Roland-Garros, beating a couple of Frenchmen, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Valentin Royer, in four sets.

A mouth-watering contest with another teenager, Joao Fonseca, awaits in the third round on Friday, but 25 will be very much on the mind now for Djokovic, and he’s unlikely to have an easier route to it than in Paris.

Casper Ruud @ 7/1

A clay-court specialist, former World No.2 Casper Ruud, has suffered two French Open final defeats, losing to Rafael Nadal and Djokovic in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

That defeat to Djokovic was his third and most recent Grand Slam final, and his current ranking of 17 shows how far away he has been from the top recently, but he remains a top player, and one of the most dangerous on this surface.

The Norwegian toiled physically in the first round on Monday, with Roman Safiullin fighting from two sets down to set up a fifth, but Ruud roared back to win and then dispatched Hamad Medjedovic in straight sets on Wednesday to set up a third-round tie with Tommy Paul.

The 27-year-old reached the final in Rome earlier this month, losing 4-6, 4-6 to Sinner, and looks like the value pick at this year's French Open with the Italian now out of the way.

French Open Odds

Rafael Jodar @ 11/1

Rafael Jodar only turned fully professional last December, but the 19-year-old has enjoyed a stunning year so far, winning a 250 in Marrakech before quarter-final runs in Barcelona and Rome, either side of a semi-final in Madrid.

The Spaniard now finds himself fourth-favourite to win Roland-Garros on his main draw debut there, but he still has to pass a third-round examination of Alex Michelsen on Friday.

Jodar breezed past another American, Aleksandar Kovacevic, in the opening round, winning in straight sets, before a more challenging second-round test against James Duckworth, beating the Australian in four sets.

The teenager has a 1-2 record against Top-10 players, beating Alex de Minaur in straight sets at the Madrid Open last month, but we're yet to see him up against Zverev or Djokovic, so it would take a brave person to back him for a first Grand Slam title here, although he certainly has the talent to win multiple majors in his career, and he's at home on clay, so don't rule it out.

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