Tim Henman believes defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is the favourite to win another title at Roland Garros on Sunday, even though his great rival Jannik Sinner has been the stand-out player of the tournament so far.
Sinner has been blowing his rivals away with displays of brutal ball striking and his 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 demolition of Jiri Lehecka in the third round was a masterclass that led many to suggest the world No 1 may be unbeatable in Paris.
Yet former British No 1 Henman suggests the Sinner mindset may change when he faces Alcaraz, who has beaten him in seven of their eleven meetings so far.
Speaking exclusively to Tennis365 at Roland Garros, TNT Sports analyst Henman believes the world No 2 has a record on clay courts that confirms he deserves to be the favourite to win another Grand Slam title in Paris.
“I think Carlos is the favourite,” Henman told Tennis365. “You look at the clay court tournaments he’s played and his results are impressive.
“He won Monte Carlo, reached the final in Barcelona and he won in Rome, beating Sinner in straight sets in the final.
“He’s won here, defending champion, he’s playing well and the only issue for me with Alcaraz is these dips in focus he seems to have in matches occasionally.
“You can get away with that against the lower-ranked players and come back and find a way to win, but you can’t do that when you get to play the top players in the world and that’s the area Alcaraz needs to iron out of his game.