PARIS/WASHINGTON, May 27, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
If Jannik Sinner was still feeling the sting of his 2025 French Open championship final loss to Carlos Alcaraz, in which he held and squandered three championship points, it wasn’t evident Tuesday night.
The World No. 1 and top seed from Italy returned to Court Philippe-Chatrier in a featured night session first-round match against 171st-ranked French wild card Clement Tabur. He brought on court with him a remarkable 29-match winning streak – all of the wins coming at the ATP Masters 1000 level – that rewarded him with consecutive titles won at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome.
Looking to become the seventh man in the Open Era of tennis (since 1968) to win all four Grand Slam tournaments and to extend his winning streak to 30, Sinner faced a player who sought the first Grand Slam win of his nascent career.
Sinner’s first win at Roland-Garros 2026 against Tabur is our highlights of the day by @emirates ✈️#RolandGarros | #Emirates #FlyBetter pic.twitter.com/hRICp6Bh4m
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 26, 2026
By the end of the two-hour, eight-minute first-round match, Sinner remained perfect in Roland-Garros first-round matches at 7-0 – and unbeaten on clay this season at 18-0 – with his 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 victory. He showed why he’s the player to beat in order to win this year’s Roland-Garros title. His 30-match winning streak is the longest in men’s tennis since Novak Djokovic won 43 in a row in 2011.
View this post on Instagram
Sinner won 80 percent (40 of 50) of his first-serve points, controlled both short and medium-length rallies – winning 56 of 74 points that were 1-4 shots as well as 34 of 62 points that were 5-8 shots long – and faced no break points on his serve. He hit 40 winners, made 21 unforced errors, converted five of 13 break-point chances and outpointed Tabur 100-65.
Just how dominant was Sinner against Tabur? The 26-year-old from Reims, France, didn’t even reach deuce point during any of Sinner’s service games until Sinner was already well in control of the match, ahead 6-1, 3-1. Give Tabur credit, thought. He kept battling during the last couple of games and forced Sinner to a fifth match point before the first-round tussle was finally settled.
Back on Chatrier and back with a win ✅#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/FMOo6AkMQG
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 26, 2026
“I’m very happy to be back here,” Sinner said during his on-court interview. “It’s a very special place and I have great memories overall. First-round matches are never easy, but it’s even more special to start the tournament during a night session, so thank you all for staying out.”
Next, Sinner, who has won 61 of 64 sets during his 30-match winning streak, will face 56th-ranked Juan Manuel Cerundolo of Argentina, who defeated No. 125 Jacob Fearnley of Great Britain, 6-2, 7-6 (0), 7-6 (7) in two hours and 54 minutes on Court 8.
Late Tuesday: Auger-Aliassime survives five-set scare against Altmaier
World No. 6 and fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada went the distance to pull out a first-round victory over No. 57 Daniel Altmaier of Germany that by all means he easily could have lost.
During the course of their four-hour, 16-minute thriller on Court Suzanne-Lenglen – the last match to end on Day 2 at this year’s French Open – Aliassime was two points from defeat at 5-6 in the fifth set, which he earlier trailed 1-4. Somehow, the Canadian No. 1 leveled the final set at 6-all and it forced a match tie-break – first player to 10 points and ahead by two wins the match.
A 5-set thriller to end the first round for FAA 🇨🇦#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/nOljuPbNBh
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 26, 2026
Auger-Aliassime pulled himself up and crossed the finish line first, defeating Altmaier 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10-7) in four hours and 16 minutes. He steadied himself and improved to 20-10 this season. The 25-year-old Auger-Aliassime’s best results in Paris have been a pair of fourth-round finishes in 2022 and 2024. Tuesday’s triumph went a long way toward making up for his five-set, first-round defeat a year ago to Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi.
The final statistics in Tuesday night’s skirmish showed Auger-Aliassime struck 54 winners but also made 68 unforced errors, compared to 30 winners and 46 unforced errors by Altmaier. Auger-Aliassime outpointed his opponent 160-147.
What it means 🗣️#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/SSLDmzKHls
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 26, 2026
Next, Auger-Aliassime will face No. 68 Roman Andres Burruchaga of Argentina, who led 64th-ranked fellow Argentine Sebastian Baez, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, 2-0, when Baez retired after three hours and two minutes of play on Court 12.
Tuesday’s Roland-Garros results
Wednesday’s Roland-Garros order of play
By the numbers
Jannik Sinner’s current 30-match winning streak is the sixth-longest in the ATP Tour Era (since 1990). He trails Novak Djokovic (43, 2010-11), Roger Federer (41, 2006-07 and 35, 2005), Thomas Muster (35, 1995) and Rafael Nadal (32, 2008).
“Quotable …”
During Jannik Sinner’s on-court interview after defeating French wild card Clement Tabur Tuesday night, he paid tribute to Gael Monfils.
A special ovation, from a special place, for a very special guy 👏#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/fkkqjV8A7m
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 26, 2026
