BENGALURU, May 22 (Reuters) - With defending champion Carlos Alcaraz out injured and Novak Djokovic undercooked on clay, the big question heading into the French Open is can anyone stop Jannik Sinner from securing the career Grand Slam in Paris?
Sinner's season began to build momentum through a "Sunshine Double" of titles at Indian Wells and Miami before the Italian took complete control of the European clay swing with triumphs in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome.
The 24-year-old Italian has a golden opportunity to capture the only major title missing from his collection 12 months after a heartbreaking loss to Alcaraz in the final.
Central to Sinner's rise has been his growing authority on the sport's slowest surface.
"This year is the first time I've won something big on clay," he said in Rome of his Monaco win.
"Also physically I'm getting stronger. It's a mix of everything.
"That experience, to play certain points in a better way, but mostly I feel like physically if you improve, it helps you a lot on clay."
Victory at Roland Garros would bring Sinner a fifth major and complete the set a few months after Alcaraz did so at the Australian Open.
With Alcaraz skipping his Paris title defence due to a wrist injury, Djokovic looms as one of the few with the game to test Sinner.
The Serb will resume his hunt for a record 25th Grand Slam title having shown in Melbourne that he remains a force even in his late thirties, after dismantling Sinner in a five-set semi-final.
Yet that display of endurance and mental strength comes with a note of caution. The physical toll from a two-decade career has left him short of full fitness and his only claycourt outing this season ended in defeat by Dino Prizmic in Rome.
Former U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick said Djokovic will still be a threat despite limited claycourt preparation after skipping his Geneva title defence.
"He's like a part-time tennis player who's still number four in the world all the time when he shows up," Roddick said.
"It's absurd, it's like he's going, 'alright all you idiots, why don't y'all bet against me?'"
Among the other hopefuls, Alexander Zverev remains a contender as he eyes an elusive first major title but the German goes to Paris with question marks over his fitness due to a back issue.
Twice runner-up Casper Ruud also brings proven pedigree on the sport's slowest surface but has struggled to take his game to the top, as shown in his loss to Sinner in the Rome final.
Frenchman Arthur Fils is also a danger after capturing the Barcelona title while Ben Shelton will carry U.S. hopes after showing his growing comfort on clay by winning the Munich crown.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
