Jannik Sinner’s pursuit of the French Open hits a snag, and it has nothing to do with tennis

World No.1 Jannik Sinner launched his pursuit of the elusive French Open title, but the Italian maestro admitted he hit a frustrating wall off the clay with a completely different project.

Sinner returned to Roland Garros for the first time since his dramatic five-set heartbreak in last year’s final and looked in commanding form. Under the lights of the night practice on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the 24-year-old comfortably dismantled French wild card Clement Tabur 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 to extend his spectacular winning streak to 30 matches.

French Open Day 3: Highlighting

However, while his tennis looks virtually flawless, his off-court predilections have proven far more boring. To get into the Parisian spirit after winning the Italian Open, Sinner and his brother set about building a massive, miniature Eiffel Tower using Lego bricks at his home in northern Italy.

The top seed admitted to Parisian crowd that architectural masterpiece remains unfinished. “We tried to finish it. We couldn’t,” Sinner smiled during an interview in court. “Because it’s always the same pieces together, so it gets very boring at some point. But we’re not far off. I know I’ll come home after this tournament and send you a picture when it’s done – hopefully if we don’t miss any pieces.”

Sinner is rarely missing on the court. Having already won the Australian Open twice, alongside a Wimbledon and US Open title each, a maiden French Open crown would see him complete the coveted career Grand Slam. With his main rival Carlos Alcaraz out with a right wrist injury, the Italian arrived in Paris as overwhelming favourite.

The only minor blemish on an otherwise perfect evening came when, at 5:4 in the third set, Sinner uncharacteristically missed three match points on Tabur’s serve. He made a brief call to the trainer to treat a minor blister on his right leg before calmly serving up victory in the next game.

Sinner will now face Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerndola in the second round, who is aiming to become the first Italian to lift the singles trophy in Paris in half a century. His tennis schedule is perfectly put together, although his Lego requires a little more patience.

– The end

Issued by:

Amar Panicker

Published on:

May 27, 2026 1:03 PM IST