Andy Roddick has shared a cautionary message for Jannik Sinner ahead of his campaign at the 2025 French Open. Sinner will be competing in only his second tournament back at Roland Garros after his three-month doping suspension.
Sinner recently made his return to the tour at the Italian Open. He showed no signs of rust as he made a run to the final, much to the delight of his home fans in Rome. Although he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets in the final, the Italian was delighted by the “amazing” support he received from the crowd. However, Roddick feels the World No. 1 should be ready for a completely different reception at the French Open.
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Speaking on his 'Served with Andy Roddick' podcast, the American warned Jannik Sinner that he should be prepared to face a hostile crowd at the claycourt Major in Paris, especially since he had two Frenchmen in his draw in the early rounds.
"I’m just telling you as nice as the reception was for Sinner when he had kind of that soft landing in Rome, where he was getting standing ovations by the press when he speaks to the media. It’s like two Frenchmen straight out of the gate, that’s a guarantee and then Arthur Fils, he is going to hear it from the French crowd in Paris for the first week of his this year’s French Open," Roddick said.
Although Roddick acknowledged that the Italian seemed to excel at compartmentalizing and brushing off any criticism, he also said that Sinner wasn't entirely immune to the impact of being heckled.
"He is going to deal with some things coming off of this suspension. It doesn’t seem to bother him. He seems like he’s able to compartmentalize, but you hear it, you just do. He deals with it better than most, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist," he added.
Having kicked off the season by triumphing at the Australian Open, Jannik Sinner will aim to ignore the potentially hostile crowd and clinch his second consecutive Grand Slam title.
Jannik Sinner to lock horns with Arthur Rinderknech in French Open 1R
As Jannik Sinner looks to win his maiden French Open title, he will lock horns with Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in his opening match. The World No. 1 holds a 2-1 lead in his head-to-head record against Rinderknech, including straight set wins in their two most recent encounters.
If Sinner wins, he will face the winner of the match between Richard Gasquet and Terence Atmane in the second round. Subsequently, the Italian will likely come up against Jakub Mensik in the third round.
Jannik Sinner could then face Arthur Fils or Andrey Rublev in the fourth round, followed by a potential quarterfinal clash with Jack Draper or Alex de Minaur. The three-time Grand Slam champion's potential semifinal opponents include Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic.
