Jannik Sinner warned what could still stop him from winning Roland Garros this year

Marion Bartoli believes Jannik Sinner winning Roland Garros is not a foregone conclusion, despite his brilliant form on the clay so far this season.

Sinner is yet to suffer a defeat on the clay this year and his brilliant run of form has seen him win the Monte Carlo Masters and the Madrid Open back-to-back.

The World No. 1’s campaign is hoping to continue that run at his home tournament, the Italian Open, before heading to Roland Garros in Paris.

Sinner is the overwhelming favourite to win Roland Garros, but Marion Bartoli refused to to say the Italian was nailed on to win the Grand Slam, due to the unpredictability of the sport.

The Frenchwoman, who won Wimbledon in 2013, believes history dictates that the best player heading into Roland Garros does not always win the tournament.

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Appearing on Les Grandes Gueules du Sport, Bartoli said: “We must remember the Djokovic precedent in 2011, when he arrived with a level of dominance superior to Sinner’s, after having beaten Nadal in Madrid and Rome. Then he lost to Federer. So it’s never a done deal.”

Djokovic won seven tournaments ahead of the 2011 Roland Garros, including the Australian Open, the Sunshine Double, and two clay court Masters in Madrid and Rome.

The Serbian was nailed on to lift the Roland Garros title, but Roger Federer had other ideas. The Swiss star stunned Djokovic in the semi-final, defeating him in four sets to end his five-month unbeaten streak.

That result proved pivotal for Djokovic, as he won the other three Grand Slam titles in 2011, so he was just two matches away from winning all four in a calendar year.

Sinner’s current dominance is very similar to that of Djokovic in 2011, but there is one key difference for the Italian compared to the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

While Djokovic had to deal with Federer and Rafael Nadal, Sinner does not even have Carlos Alcaraz to deal with at this year’s Roland Garros, due to the wrist injury he picked up in Barcelona.

Sinner’s only genuine worry at Roland Garros will be Djokovic, who seems to be dealing with injury issues of his own following the Italian Open.

The Serbian struggled in his match against Dino Prizmic in Rome, but he did defeat Sinner earlier this year in the semi-final of the Australian Open. Djokovic came through a five-set classic to knock Sinner out of the first Grand Slam of the year.

Djokovic is just one of two players to be Sinner this year, the other one being Jakub Mensik, who beat the Italian at the Qatar Open in February.

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