Pune: Sania Mirza He believes the women’s field at the French Open, which starts on Sunday, is an “open mix”, while Jenk Sinner is the clear favorite among the men. Excerpts from the conversation…Among his favorites to win the singles title at Roland Garros this year:I think men have it easy, right? Jannik Sinner has been in incredible form, (Carlos) Alcaraz is also not in the mix, so Sinner comes in as favourite.In women, it’s actually an interesting mix. Usually you see Iga Swiatek dominate the clay court season. Coming into Roland Garros, he had a quiet first few months. Sabalenka is not in the best form. It’s honestly pretty open. My gut (feeling) is that we will see a new clay court champion outside of Sablenka or Rybakina. It could be someone like my Andreeva. She has been knocking on the door for a while.On Djokovic’s chances in Alcaraz’s absence:Certainly, it bumps his chances. He doesn’t really lose that much to other people, unless he’s injured. Novak is still top three, which is crazy, considering he’s 38-39 years old. Nowak is someone who has always proven physiology wrong, he has proven nature wrong and people wrong. I do not say this disrespectfully but he is a dark horse because he has not won a Grand Slam in the last two years. I think he comes with an opportunity.On further demands of the players Prize money:This is a conversation that has come up for the second time. It happened when Roger (Federer) was still playing. And that’s why you see the increase in prize money that has happened over the last few years.It is not surprising that it has returned, as it was not fully resolved at the time. But this time it seems they (the players) are a bit more adamant about it. And if your top player, who has won multiple Grand Slams in the last two years, is talking about it, that’s a big deal. So it will be interesting to see where this goes. (Catch all the action from Roland Garros 2026 Live on Sony Sports Network from May 24)
