Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have both received a boost to their hopes of 2024 French Open glory after Jannik Sinner confirmed he may not feature.
Sinner won the first Grand Slam of the year at the Australian Open in January and the Italian world No.2 was tipped as one of the favourites for Roland-Garros.
Sinner has been struggling with a hip injury, though, forcing him out of clay-court events in Madrid and Rome, and he may now pull out of the tournament in Paris.
That has boosted fellow favourites Nadal and Djokovic, especially considering Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz is also a doubt amid his own injury issues.
Ahead of the French Open getting started at the end of May, Sinner said: ‘At Roland-Garros, I’ll only play if I’m 100 per cent, if there’s any doubt we have to see.
‘Some injuries can be prevented, some can’t. So far we’ve done a great job, last year I played a whole season without injuries and also in this season so far.
‘With the MRI we saw that something isn’t 100 per cent ok. However, we have everything under control.
‘If it doesn’t get 100 per cent cured, I’ll stop a little longer. Taking care of the body is more important than everything else.
‘Now I’ll have a period without playing, we need to see how to work from next week onwards.
‘Preparation for Roland-Garros will clearly not be optimal. We’ll give our best to get there in the best possible conditions to compete, but playing a Grand Slam without matches in Rome isn’t easy.’
Nadal, 37, dubbed the ‘King of Clay’ is the most successful player in the history of the French Open and is seeking a fairytale end with one last men’s singles title.
The Spanish tennis hero is likely to play the Grand Slam event for the final time in his career having announced that 2024 will probably be his last year in the sport.
World No.1 Djokovic, meanwhile, is aiming to clinch his 25th Grand Slam singles title having won Roland-Garros last year for the third time in his career.
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