Twenty years ago, Rafael Nadal won his first major, the 2005 French Open. An improbable 21 majors followed—a goofy 13 more of them at Roland Garros. This marks the first Roland Garros with Nadal in retirement—which, in theory, opens the field. Except that two players have won each of the last five majors. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are in their respective primes, ages 23 and 22. They are ranked—and therefore seeded—No. 1 and No. 2. And they played in the Rome final last week.
Which is to say: After two decades of predictable excellence, we are back in a place where there are two favorites … and a long staircase down to the next set of contenders.
