TENNIS: French Open 2024 predictions

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I haven’t been able to do much other than follow tennis via news reports and highlights on YouTube so far this year so, personally, I cannot wait for the grass-court season and the Olympics. But before that is the small matter of the French Open. On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek has to be the out-and-out favourite, having won at Madrid and Rome, beating her closest rival Sabalenka there, as well as being the defending champion at Roland Garros. (Sabalenka will fight, and you have to mention Rybakina and Danielle Collins, who has been having an incredible final year before retiring, maybe even Gauff.) Weirdly, I don’t think there is a favourite for the men. Sinner and Alcaraz have been injured and so have not had ideal preparation, Djokovic hasn’t been able to capitalise and neither has any other male player, because it always seems to be someone new winning tournaments on clay. This is very disconcerting, because women’s tennis is meant to be the unpredictable side.

Nadal vs. Zverev is THE first round to watch. And then, it should be said, winning the French and Wimbledon in the same year may be the toughest double in tennis. As for the doubles, I really haven't been following closely enough to hazard a guess, although I imagine there will be more teams from the same country, because it's an Olympic year.