It’s been a whirlwind couple of months for Jannik Sinner as he continues his barnstorming march in tennis, rewriting the sport as we know it.
On Tuesday, he opened his French Open campaign with an unsurprising straight-sets victory, which has now become the expectation anytime he plays. He now needs at most six more victories in this season’s French Open to complete his career Grand Slam and join an exclusive list of players to have achieved that momentous feat.
Since the start of the Open Era, only six players have completed the career Grand Slam: Rod Laver (1969), Andre Agassi (1999), Roger Federer (2009), Rafa Nadal (2010), Novak Djokovic (2016) and, quite recently, Carlos Alcaraz, earlier this year. However, there is one small statistical group, even smaller than the aforementioned, that Sinner joined with his first-round victory here in the French Capital.
That group has only three members who have achieved one distinctive statistical achievement, indicating their dominance during certain periods of their careers.
Sinner Continues Matching Big Three
Elite Company
It is no surprise that these three are the “Big 3,” whose rivalries have transformed and defined the sport for so long. In dispatching Clement Tabur on Tuesday, Jannik Sinner became only the fourth player this century, after Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, to win thirty-plus consecutive matches, highlighting the stranglehold the Italian enjoys over the tour now. That run has seen him win five consecutive Masters 1000 events this year — a category in which he’s the only occupant.
Jannik Sinner’s reaction after winning his 1st round match at Roland Garros.
He joins Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, and Novak Djokovic as the only men to record 30+ consecutive wins this century.
Add it to his list of many insane achievements.
🇮🇹🦊 pic.twitter.com/2Tkp3dLFaX
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 26, 2026
It marked a remarkable turn of events. At the same time Sinner struggled, it was his rival, Alcaraz, who was expected and tipped by many to embark on a lengthy winning run, following a bright start to the season that saw him complete his aforementioned Career Grand Slam in Australia. The Spaniard had built up a 16-match winning run of his own before it was snapped in Indian Wells following a dominant semi-final display by Daniil Medvedev.
Now, Alcaraz gets to watch from the sidelines following a wrist injury while his main rival matches or breaks countless records.
Eye On The Ball
There is no doubt that, despite this being a nice achievement for Sinner, the real prize remains victory here at this French Open.
Despite what has been quite an astonishing run and show of dominance from the Italian, failing to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires come June 7 will put a real dampener on his exploits these past couple of months. Some voices have expressed concerns, going so far as to suggest he won’t win the French Open this year, but the overall feeling is that, barring a freak injury, he looks nailed on to get it done here.
His next match pits him against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, in what should be very winnable for him. Furthermore, Daniil Medvedev’s exit — the player who has tested him the most during this run of wins — makes what already looked like a favourable draw, with both Zverev and Djokovic on the other side, even more favourable for the world No. 1.
It certainly feels inevitable that by the conclusion of this tournament, Jannik Sinner will have completed the set of Grand Slams and Masters 1000 events at the age of 24; a truly remarkable feat.
