The path has never been more wide open for Jannik Sinner to rack up the titles and put some distance between him and Carlos Alcaraz now that the Spaniard will be sidelined indefinitely.
Alcaraz is dealing with a significant right wrist injury that will knock him out of competition until at least after the French Open. He's already missed the Madrid Open and will likely watch Sinner take the title there, and now he's officially out of Roland Garros and all events in between.
With these new developments, Sinner has never had an easier path to win, and considering that it's rare for anyone to beat him or Alcaraz in a final lately, the light is the perfect shade of green for Sinner to rack up wins and titles until his rival returns. All Sinner has to do now is come through, so will he?
Jannik Sinner can grab the bull by the horns while Carlos Alcaraz sits out
It's not as if Sinner will only start to win titles now that Alcaraz will be sidelined, because Sinner has not lost a final since the Qatar Open in February against Jakub Mensik. Since then, Sinner has taken the Indian Wells Masters, the Miami Open, and the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he last beat Alcaraz in straight sets.
It's also not as if Sinner has catching up to do on Alcaraz either; he leads his rival 3-2 in titles won this year. It all comes down to distance, now, more than anything else. Should Sinner lock up Madrid, he'll improve to four titles on the year. After that, the Italian Open is up next, and unless he has plans to play in Hamburg, Germany, or Geneva, Switzerland, Roland Garros will be next up.
With Alcaraz out of the picture for now, Sinner immediately becomes the overall favorite in any event he plays going forward, and should Alcaraz not be ready for the grass season, Sinner will walk into London as the favorite there also.
The time is now for Sinner to create a significant amount of distance between himself and Alcaraz. That said, for Sinner to achieve that, he must play and compete as if every finals match from here on out is against Alcaraz, and not let his guard down or give in to lesser levels of competition.
It's not just Sinner who has a path; everyone else in the top 10 will now face a greater opportunity to take a big title. Sinner will have to pay attention to that, because the likes of Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton, Alex de Minaur, and, of course, we can never forget the one who has already beaten Sinner in a Grand Slam semi-final this year, Novak Djokovic, will be coming.
Everyone should look at Alcaraz's absence as a chance to grab the bull by the horns, because there may not be another time soon where one of the two top players in the world is out of the picture.
As for Sinner, he needs to rush that bull head on. Given the level he's played at this year, that bull may not have much of a chance, unless a massive upset looms ahead that no one knows about.
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