With Jannik Sinner Out, Who Wins the French Open? Breaking Down the Weekend’s Must-See Matchups

Reported by Vogue.

Jannik Sinner was supposed to be the story of this French Open — world number one, one slam away from completing a career grand, and with Carlos Alcaraz already sidelined by injury. Instead, he's the cautionary tale. According to Vogue, Sinner wilted in the heat during a five-set loss to 56th-ranked Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo, and just like that, Roland Garros blew wide open.

The chaos didn't start with Sinner. These first weeks have been genuinely brutal: American newcomer Hailey Baptiste is out six months with ACL and meniscus injuries; both Zeynep Sönmez and Alexander Blockx retired after stepping on courtside advertising blocks; Jakub Mensik won a grueling five-setter and then cramped so severely he had to be wheeled off the court. Temperatures peaked around 94 degrees — meaning the conditions that broke Sinner were actually milder than what's coming.

The Matches That Actually Matter Now

On the men's side, Novak Djokovic — seeded third, chasing a 25th grand slam — was never going to get an easy road regardless. He and Sinner were on opposite halves of the draw. Before any Zverev semifinal materializes, Djokovic faces 28th seed Joao Fonseca, a Brazilian clay-court native who, at his best, can beat almost anyone. Whether a 39-year-old Djokovic is still the sport's shrewdest tactician is the question of the tournament. Elsewhere, Mensik plays de Minaur, Ruud takes on Tommy Paul, and young American Learner Tien faces Flavio Cobolli for a fourth-round spot — the kind of depth chart that makes bracket chaos feel like a feature, not a bug.

The women's draw is its own spectacle. Iga Swiatek and a surging Marta Kostyuk — on a career-high run, particularly on clay — meet Sunday after both dismissed their third-round opponents. Monday's slate is stacked: Iva Jovic vs. Naomi Osaka, Aryna Sabalenka vs. Daria Kasatkina, Madison Keys vs. Victoria Mboko (whose name is circulating in doubles rumors involving a returning Serena Williams at the Wimbledon warm-up at Queen's Club), and fourth-seeded Coco Gauff vs. Anastasia Potapova. If Sabalenka wants the title, she'd likely have to clear Gauff, Jovic or Osaka, and Mboko to get there. Wild-card Mirra Andreeva, seeded eighth, is always one ignited match away from becoming a real conversation.

The smart money: Zverev — one of the best players of his generation without a slam to show for it — to win the men's title on a suddenly manageable draw; and Sabalenka, if she can survive her own gauntlet, on the women's side. But in a tournament where the top seed lost to a player ranked 56th in oppressive heat, "smart money" is doing a lot of heavy lifting right now.

When the favorites collapse, it's the underdogs who make history — and this weekend's matchups are exactly the kind of tennis worth clearing your schedule for.

Read the original at Vogue.