"It's possible to beat Jannik Sinner" - Frances Tiafoe sends strongly-worded message to fellow ATP players ahead of French Open
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Frances Tiafoe has sent a strong message to the rest of the ATP Tour ahead of the 2026 French Open, insisting that Jannik Sinner is definitely beatable. Tiafoe’s comments come amid Sinner’s dominant 2026 campaign, which has seen the Italian establish himself as the clear man to beat on tour.Sinner has looked nearly unstoppable this season, capturing the Sunshine Double before going on to win the Monte-Carlo Masters, Madrid Open, and Italian Open in succession. However, the World No. 1 has not been completely invincible, suffering defeats to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open and Jakub Mensik at the Qatar Open earlier this year.Speaking to reporters during his press conference at Roland Garros, Frances Tiafoe made it clear that players cannot step onto the court already defeated mentally when facing Sinner. The American stressed that everyone on tour has to genuinely believe they are capable of beating the Italian and that doing so is absolutely possible."He's an incredible player, that's clear, but I'm not going to sit here and put him on a pedestal even more," Tiafoe said. "I think the rest of us players need to mentally convince ourselves that it's possible to beat him. Right now, we're all creating a kind of aura around him, and that also plays a part. Of course, he's on another level and doing monumental things, but the best players on the tour have the level to compete with him. The key is to break through that mental barrier."Frances Tiafoe shares his thoughts on Carlos Alcaraz's French Open absenceFrances Tiafoe pictured at the 2026 Hamburg Open | Image Source: GettyCarlos Alcaraz is set to miss the 2026 French Open as he continues recovering from the wrist injury he suffered in Barcelona. The Spaniard has also confirmed that he will not participate in either the Queen's Club Championships or Wimbledon Championships this year.Speaking about Alcaraz’s absence during a press conference at Roland Garros, Frances Tiafoe admitted that it would have been great to see the Spaniard competing in Paris. However, the American also stressed that Alcaraz's absence from the tournament does not suddenly make things easy for the rest of the field, especially considering the level currently being displayed by Jannik Sinner and several other top contenders on tour.“Not gonna do that though, man. Shout out Carlos a really good friend of mine. The game needs him, it hurts that he’s out, you know, here and Wimbledon, but, you know, I’m not gonna, you know, rag him on tour like that," Tiafoe said. “You’ve got a ton of great players, and especially a guy like me, I’m not losing to Carlos and Sinner every week. There’s a bunch of guys that have been losing to, so, I’m not gonna sit here and say there’s a huge opportunity. Is that a fact? Sure, but I’m not gonna sit here and say, ‘Oh, Carlos is out, oh, man, it’s wide open.’ That’s not the case. That’s not the case. So, yeah, the game, everybody is really strong," he added.
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