Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal from Roland Garros leaves the Grand Slam draw wide open, with the potential for a brand-new winner.
Jannik Sinner will be the overwhelming favourite, but many of the top ATP stars will be hoping to meet him in the final.
Greg Rusedski has picked his ‘wildcard’ for Roland Garros as the likes of Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, and Felix Auger-Aliassime will be licking their lips ahead of the Grand Slam.
Serena Williams’ former coach, Rick Macci, has now named the player he believes could upset the applecart at Roland Garros.
Rick Macci backs Arthur Fils as his Roland Garros dark horse
Macci believes there could be some rising stars who make a name for themselves at Roland Garros this year.
The legendary American tennis coach has picked Arthur Fils as his ‘wildcard’ option for the Paris Grand Slam.
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“My wildcard at the French Open is Fils. On the dirt he is physical and can lay some hurt,” wrote Macci on social media.
“If he is away from Sinner he can get to the finals and maybe be the winner. He is injury free and heading towards the top three. The French crowd will be wild with thrills going ballistic for Mr. Fils.”
The Frenchman has been in fine form since returning to the ATP Tour in February from a worrying back injury.
The star has won the Barcelona Open, reached the Qatar Open final, as well as the semi-final at the Miami Open.
Arthur Fils’ record at Roland Garros
Macci is sticking his neck out on the line for Fils, especially considering the star’s record at his home Grand Slam.
Is Arthur Fils the next best player after Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner?
Fils has reached the main draw in the past three years, but only once has he made it past the first round of the Grand Slam.
- 2025: Third round
- 2024: First round
- 2023: First round
- 2022: Qualifying round one
- 2021: Qualifying round two
The star picked up his first two victories at Roland Garros last year, where he beat Nicolas Jarry and Jaume Munar before withdrawing with injury ahead of his match with Andrey Rublev.
Prior to 2025, Fils had been knocked out in the first round at the previous two editions. In 2024 he was beaten by Matteo Arnaldi and 2023 delivered a defeat from Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Fils’ all-time record at Roland Garros is 2–2, so he will have to drastically improve to live up to Macci’s prediction.
