LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 02: Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates winning match point against Vit Kopriva of Czechia in his Gentlemen’s Singles first round match during day two of The Championships Wimbledon 2024 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 02, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
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Carlos Alcaraz is sidelined at least through Wimbledon with a right wrist injury, and that is sad news for tennis.
But it does potentially provide an opening for Novak Djokovic at the next two Grand Slams.
Without two-time defending French Open champion Alcaraz at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, the soon-to-be 39-year-old Serbian legend won’t have to beat the Spaniard and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner to win a major title.
The 24-time major champ and world No. 4 would only have to beat Sinner, whom he did beat in five sets in the Australian Open semifinals in January, along with whatever other top players he faces in his draw.
Of course, Sinner is on a historic roll right now, having won five straight ATP Masters 1000 titles in 2026 and six straight overall. He has won 29 straight matches after capturing the Italian Open title on Sunday.
“You’d have to say that when it looked even bleaker that he’d win another [major], the door’s opened up obviously more for [Djokovic] as well as [Alexander] Zverev, for example, and others that have been struggling,” McEnroe said in response to my question on a TNT Sports Zoom call previewing the French Open.
ROME, ITALY – MAY 17: Jannik Sinner of Italy poses for a photo with the trophy following victory against Casper Ruud of Norway in their Men’s Singles Final match on Day Thirteen of the Internazionali BNL D’Italia 2026 at Foro Italico on May 17, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
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McEnroe proceeded to list off Felix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev and top Americans Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz as others who could benefit from Alcaraz’s absence.
“You talk about wide open in a way, other than the obvious guy Sinner,” McEnroe said. “But to me ultimately it’s Sinner against the field, I’d take Sinner right now. But it does open the door for a bunch of other guys to make runs they weren’t ever going to potentially going to make.”
Djokovic has won Roland Garros three times and Wimbledon seven times, so it might make the most sense for him to focus more on Wimbledon for a run at a potential 25th major.
“I can see that, absolutely,” McEnroe said of Djokovic’s chances on the grass. “He’s got that expertise, he knows that, he’s done that. The points are shorter. So I’d say that’s his best bet at this point.”
Djokovic is widely considered the GOAT of men’s tennis. But he lost to world No. 79 Dino Prižmić of Croatia in his first match at the Italian Open earlier this month.
As for Roland Garros, Patrick McEnroe says Djokovic would need to win a few round to get into the tournament before becoming one of the favorites.
“If he can get through the first couple rounds, then he can become one of the favorites, obviously,” Patrick McEnroe said.
He then listed No. 19 Arthur Fils as someone in “ the younger crew” who could make the semifinals, and also mentioned No. 20 Learner Tien as someone “that could make a little run as well.”