World No.1 wins 30th successive match to begin Paris title bid
The last time Jannik Sinner was on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the Italian was on the losing end of a titanic five-set final to Carlos Alcaraz in the 2025 championship tilt, where three match points came and went in a heartbreaking loss.
The top seed's road to redemption, a first Roland-Garros title and the career Grand Slam, began emphatically on Tuesday night, as he was a 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 winner over French wildcard Clement Tabur.
Sinner was a massive favourite against Tabur, a 26-year-old ranked No.171 in the world. And he played like it to secure a 30th consecutive match win dating back to February.
Sinner hit 40 winners, double that of Tabur, and didn’t face a break point throughout the 2 hr 8 min match.
Tabur didn't even reach deuce in a Sinner service game until the Italian was already ahead 6-1, 3-1, though he fought admirably - particularly late on - and forced the world No.1 to play his best to eventually convert a fifth match point.
“I’m very happy to be back here,” Sinner said in his on-court interview.
“It’s a very special place and I have great memories overall. First round matches are never easy, but it’s even more special to start the tournament during a night session."
As he seeks to become the seventh man in the Open era to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in his career, Sinner is continuing to rack up records.
His opening win on the terre battue put him on a short list of men to win 30 consecutive matches or more this century, alongside Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.
Heavy is the head that wears the crown, so they say, particularly when your great rival is missing from the draw due to injury.
But the 24-year-old is taking nothing about his Parisian fortnight for granted, nor is he expecting a coronation without having earned it.
"Pressure is always going to be there," he later told the press.
"It's part of us as a tennis player. I do believe everyone has pressure in their work. ... It's normal. So I try to take it in a very natural way. I know what kind of player I am.
"Then if you don't feel the pressure, it means you don't care. I do care a lot [about] what I'm trying to achieve on a tennis court, and at the same time, I know it's not that the world is going down if I lose. In any case, I try to do my best. I'm a competitor. I try to put myself in the best possible position, and that's it."
And in two weeks' time, the Italian hopes that the "best possible position" will see him, standing on Chatrier holding the Coupe des Mousquetaires on the final Sunday of Roland-Garros.
ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
