Jannik Sinner opened his Roland Garros campaign on 26 May by taking the first set 6-1 against Clement Tabur and moving ahead 4-1 in the second, according to live scoring from the match.
The scoreline was emphatic: Sinner claimed the opening set 6-1 and, at the latest live update, led Tabur 6-1, 4-1 while holding serve at love in multiple games.
The numbers underline why Sinner arrived in Paris as the clear favorite. He has already spent 73 weeks as world No. 1 and arrives on a 29-match winning streak. His opponent, Tabur, was ranked No. 171 ATP and had entered the main draw with a wild card — a mismatch on paper that the scoreboard reflected.
Tabur’s progress to the main draw had drawn attention; readers can find the tournament preview on his pairing here: Clement Tabur: Jannik Sinner arrives at French Open as clear favourite. Still, a wild card and a low ranking have not always prevented first-round shocks at Grand Slams, and the quickness of Sinner’s holds at love masked moments where the underdog might have found a foothold.
The Paris clay stage is the sport’s second Grand Slam and returned this year as the 125th edition and the 91st of the Open Era after starting on 24 May. With Carlos Alcaraz absent because of a wrist injury, the draw carried a different texture this year, and Sinner had been presented as the favorite to pursue the double after Rome and a Career Grand Slam.
The tournament’s global reach was set in the opening week: Roland Garros coverage is scheduled to be shown on Eurosport, HBO Max, Discovery+, Dazn, TimVision and Prime Video Channels, ensuring the match reached audiences across Europe and beyond.
Sinner’s start in Paris is notable against a longer historical backdrop. No Italian man has won the Roland Garros since Adriano Panatta in 1976 — a 50-year drought that hangs over any Italian contender who advances deep into the draw. Sinner’s form and ranking make him the nation’s best hope in a generation, and his early control against Tabur only reinforced that case.
The match also offered the small, human glimpses that separate tournaments from headlines. Off court, Sinner has spoken about ordinary life away from tennis: "Io e mio fratello stiamo costruendo la Torre Eiffel con i Lego, quella grande con 10.000 pezzi." The line landed as a reminder that even players with grand-slam expectations still have weekend rooms and childhood projects.
There is, however, a friction that keeps the story interesting. Dominant scores in round one do not guarantee a title in Paris, and the pressure of carrying Italy’s hopes into a slam where the country has not triumphed since 1976 is real. Sinner has the raw numbers — weeks at No. 1 and an extended win streak — but clay in late May and early June produces different challenges than the hard courts that shaped parts of his run.
He has also spoken plainly about injuries and recovery in recent remarks, saying that "gli infortuni vanno e vengono" and stressing that "la priorità assoluta sia guarire al 100% e non avere fretta." Those sentences underscored that physical management will be part of his campaign as much as shot selection and court positioning.
Sinner’s first-round display erased little doubt that he begins as a frontrunner, but it sharpened the central question of the fortnight: can Jannik Sinner turn this dominant start and his 29-match streak into Paris silverware and finally end Italy’s half-century wait at Roland Garros?
