What French Open told us about Olympic favourites

The French Open is over for another year – but the clay courts of Roland Garros will be back in use sooner than you think.

The iconic Paris venue will host the tennis tournaments at this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.

It is the first time since Barcelona 1992 that tennis at the Olympics will be played on the surface.

So, has the French Open given us any hints about the gold-medal contenders?

‘Toughest challenge’ is beating Swiatek in Paris
Iga Swiatek has a 35-2 win record at Roland Garros

It’s hard to look past Iga Swiatek for women’s singles gold.

The 23-year-old has won four Grand Slam titles since the last Olympics in 2021, with three of those triumphs arriving on the clay courts of Roland Garros.

“I love it here,” Swiatek said after winning her third straight French Open title with a commanding victory over Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.

Paolini told Swiatek afterwards that playing her in Paris is “the toughest challenge in this sport” – and she’s not wrong.

That final victory stretched the Pole’s winning streak at Roland Garros to 21 matches.

It also rounded off a dominant clay-court season for Swiatek, who added to her wins in Madrid and Rome to become just the second player after Serena Williams to claim the ‘Triple Crown’ in a calendar year.

Not even Swiatek’s three closest-ranked rivals – Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina – have been able to defeat her on the surface this year.

Keeping her away from the gold medal will be difficult.

Djokovic faces fitness fight in bid for missing piece

Olympic gold is the one thing missing from Novak Djokovic’s trophy collection.

And at 37, time appears to be running out for the Serb to triumph at a Games.

In April, Djokovic said Paris 2024 was “a priority” this year.

However, his Olympic dream has been hampered by a medial meniscus tear in his right knee that caused his withdrawal from the French Open quarter-finals.

Not only did that end Djokovic’s hopes of winning a record 25th Grand Slam title, it also means he faces a race against time to be fit in time for the Olympics.

Djokovic earned a bronze medal at Beijing 2008, but he has lost the third-place match twice in his three Olympic appearances since.

Long-term rivals Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray have both won gold in the men’s singles, while Roger Federer took silver in 2012.

The men’s singles draw is wide open

While Swiatek is the nailed-on favourite for gold in the women’s draw, it’s harder to call on the men’s side.

Even if Djokovic is fit in time for the Olympics, the 24-time Grand Slam champion has struggled for form this year, failing to reach a final.

Carlos Alcaraz will head into the Games as the reigning French Open champion after claiming a maiden title at the tournament many always thought he was destined to win.

However, it was anything but an easy run for the Spaniard, who needed five sets to win his semi-final against Jannik Sinner, while Alexander Zverev also took him to five in the final.

Runner-up Zverev is the defending Olympic champion, and the German will take confidence from reaching the showpiece after failing to win his three previous semi-finals in Paris.

New world number one Sinner made his best run in the French capital, while fellow semi-finalist Casper Ruud can also be considered a key contender having made two of the past three finals at Roland Garros.

Brits are in ‘best place’ on clay before Paris
Andy Murray won gold in the men’s singles at London 2012 and Rio 2016

This year’s French Open was a tournament to forget for the British singles players.

The six Britons – Andy Murray, Katie Boulter, Cameron Norrie, Jack Draper, Dan Evans and Harriet Dart – all lost their opening matches in the first three days.

A poor showing in Paris doesn’t bode well for Team GB at this year’s Olympics, but Evans said British tennis was in the “best spot” it had been on clay for a long time.

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Murray came close to winning the title at Roland Garros in 2016, losing to Djokovic in the final.

Paris 2024 is likely to be the 37-year-old’s last chance to compete at a Games, having said earlier this year he is not planning to “play much past this summer”.

Hewett and Reid have big chance of Paralympic gold
Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid won doubles silver at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020

Team GB might stand a better chance at the Paralympics when it comes to tennis.

Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid will be favourites to win men’s doubles gold in Paris after sealing their fifth straight French Open triumph on Saturday.

The pair, who have won 20 Grand Slam titles together, will be keen to better their silver-medal results from 2016 and 2020.

World number one Hewett will also want to get his hands on the gold medal in the singles, after losing out to Reid in Rio in 2016.

He lost in the French Open singles semi-finals this year, with Japanese teenager Tokito Oda winning the title for the second year running.