By: Karl Salkowski

Professional tennis has been dominated by two young talents for the last half decade. For nearly 3 whole years Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have won every Grand Slam tournament. There are a total of 4 Grand Slams each year, each on a different surface: grass, clay, and hard courts. Nobody is anywhere close to these two players, but for the first time in years there will be a new Grand Slam champion. 

Sinner and Alcaraz have continuously held the top spot in international rankings over the past few years, with Sinner most recently taking back the top spot in April of this year. Currently, Jannik Sinner has a total of 14,750 points; Carlos Alcaraz has 11,960; and the third ranked player, Alexander Zverev, has only 5,705. 

Alcaraz was forced to withdraw from both Wimbledon and the French Open due to a lingering wrist injury. Before the tournament at Roland Garros began, Sinner was the favorite, with analysts giving him anywhere between a 74% and an 87% chance to win the Grand Slam. 

Sinner had promptly swept the first round of the tournament, scoring 6-1, 6-3, and 6-4 before moving on to the second round. He was matched against Juan Cerúndolo who arrived at Roland Garros ranked number 56th in the world. Sinner dominated the first 2 sets, winning 6-3 and 6-2. The third set was incredibly close, with Cerúndolo narrowly clinching the set at 7-5. This momentum was exactly what Cerúndolo needed, and he continued it in the 4th and 5th sets, scoring 6-1 and 6-1 to close out the match. 

Sinner physically collapsed halfway through the match, stating he felt dizzy and exhausted, which allowed Cerúndolo to take over the match completely. Many analysts have noticed that Sinner plays significantly worse in the heat, often getting heat stroke and being overcome by dizziness. 

This is a very exciting moment in the tennis world. Within the next two weeks a new Grand Slam champion will be crowned. Cerúndolo, the player who knocked out Sinner, played very well but got knocked out in the fourth round. At the moment, Alexander Zverev is favored to win as he has made it all the way to the semifinals, but it is still very much a toss up.