MATS WILANDER PREVIEWS ROLAND-GARROS 2023
Eurosport tennis expert and seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Mats Wilander previews the men's singles favourites ahead of Roland-Garros 2023.
The men’s singles favourites:
The two favourites for me are Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. And then around five behind them - Holger Rune, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, and maybe Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev slightly behind.
Once the tournament starts and Novak starts winning, it will be clear that he will become the favourite. But because Rafa is not there it is so much more open.
We are able to forget the greatest players of all time immediately because our four Grand Slams are bigger than any player has ever been and the sport of tennis is bigger than any player will ever be.
Carlos Alcaraz is the exact imitation of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic in one player. That’s the legacy that we must never forget about.
It’s the way that they played the game and the way players have grown up watching them and they’ve learned this is how you play tennis. Every coach will say look at these three players and that’s how you’re supposed to play. The things he’s doing that we never saw with them is that he’s smiling because he can do everything these three did over their careers.
Can Alacaraz win as much as them? Probably not, but his style is so good. We can follow him over the next ten years being the best player in the world. I don’t remember watching a player that surprises us more than Alcaraz. He is more exciting than anyone other player I’ve ever seen.
On the ‘dark horses’:
The dark horse is any man that plays in the tournament that can beat anyone in the first round. There are so many guys that are so physically strong and they can have the best days of their lives.
Anyone can beat anyone if they have the best days of their lives. The darkest horse is maybe Holger Rune because he’s so young and clearly has the ability and confidence and we have clearly not seen the best tennis he will produce, but we might see it here. Maybe we have already seen the best Carlos Alcaraz last year at the US Open.
Watch every match from Roland-Garros on Eurosport and discovery+.
Contacts
Dan Stead
Communications ManagerLatest news
TNT SPORTS PARTNERS WITH ALZHEIMER'S SOCIETY ONCE MORE TO RELEASE NEW VIDEO CONTENT TACKLING DEMENTIA
One person can’t take on dementia on their own, it takes a team. That's why TNT Sports are once again partnering with Alzheimer's Society this World Alzheimer's Month to raise awareness of dementia.
US OPEN TENNIS COMES TO MILLIONS OF VIEWERS ACROSS EUROPE ON EUROSPORT AND HBO MAX
• Every match on every court at the 2026 US Open will stream live across 45 markets* in Europe on HBO Max with far reaching coverage on Eurosport • Action gets underway with Qualifiers and Mixed Doubles Championship from 24 August • Coverage of the year’s final Grand Slam follows record-breaking pan-European tennis audiences for WBD this summer
WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY CLOSES HISTORIC ROAD CYCLING SEASON WITH LIVE COVERAGE OF EVERY RACE AT LA VUELTA A ESPAÑA AND THE 2026 ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Every stage of La Vuelta a España will be shown live across Europe on Eurosport, TNT Sports and HBO Max from 22 August to 13 September The conclusion of the Grand Tour season precedes WBD’s coverage of the UCI Road World Championships on 20-27 September WBD’s record-breaking summer of cycling continues following audience growth across all platforms during the Grand Tour season
FOOTBALL ON ANOTHER LEVEL: TNT SPORTS BRINGS FANS A HUGE SEASON OF LIVE FOOTBALL WITH SEVEN MAJOR TROPHIES ON THE LINE
Steven Gerrard leads an all-star line-up as TNT Sports prepares to bring fans more than 700 live matches across the biggest domestic and European competitions
TNT SPORTS UNVEILS NEW BRAND CAMPAIGN CELEBRATING SPORT AT ITS HIGHEST LEVEL
The biggest competitions in football demand the very best from everyone involved.
WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY EXPANDS ATHLETICS COVERAGE WITH ADDITION OF EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
The European Athletics Championships Birmingham 2026 will be shown in 45 markets across Europe on Warner Bros. Discovery’s channels and platforms Every event will stream live on HBO Max with TV coverage on Eurosport and TNT Sports Live coverage begins on 10-16 August
HISTORIC TOUR DE FRANCE SETS NEW BENCHMARK FOR CYCLING VIEWERSHIP IN EUROPE AS WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY GROWS ITS AUDIENCE ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS
Biggest ever Tour de France streaming audience secured across Europe on HBO Max TNT Sports reaches millions of viewers and boosts its live viewing by 58% in its first year of exclusive coverage in the UK and Ireland with free-to-air reach growing on 5 Eurosport grows pan-European viewership with its most watched Tour de France in a decade alongside record editions in France, Spain and the Netherlands
PREMIER PADEL SECURES LIVE COVERAGE ON TNT SPORTS AND HBO MAX FOR HISTORICAL FIRST EDITION OF THE LONDON PREMIER PADEL P1
The London P1 will take place from 4-9 August at Olympia and every match will be available to watch live in the UK and Ireland Action begins on 4 August at 10:00 BST with coverage across TNT Sports and HBO Max Trojan Paillot (WBD): “By partnering with Premier Padel we will showcase the very best of the sport and its athletes.” Rob Mitchell (Premier Padel): “This agreement with TNT Sports is a gamechanger for the sport in the UK and Ireland.” Stewart Hosford (Sela): “Our ambition is to elevate London P1 into one of Premier Padel’s defining tournaments. This partnership will help us bring the energy and excitement at Olympia to fans across the UK and Ireland.”
TNT SPORTS CONTINUES AS THE HOME OF SNOOKER IN THE UK AND IRELAND WITH WORLD SNOOKER TOUR EXTENSION
TNT Sports extends its coverage of the World Snooker Tour until 2031 Every frame from the World Championship, the Masters and the UK Championship will be shown live on TNT Sports and HBO Max Trojan Paillot: “Our partnership with the WST reinforces our commitment to providing fans with the most complete snooker offer”
EVERY EVENT FROM GLASGOW 2026 COMMONWEALTH GAMES EXCLUSIVELY LIVE ON TNT SPORTS AND HBO MAX
Every event from the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games will be exclusively live across all HBO Max subscription plans in the UK and Ireland* Never-before-seen Commonwealth Games 360 channel ensures fans never miss a key moment - Live from 08.30-22.30 every day. Enhanced streaming features on HBO Max ensure the ultimate viewing experience. The Opening Ceremony broadcast live in full on TNT Sports, HBO Max and 5 on July 23rd.
CLIMBING AUDIENCES POWER STRONG START TO TNT SPORTS’ FIRST EXCLUSIVE LIVE TOUR DE FRANCE COVERAGE
TNT Sports grows its Tour de France coverage by +41% in its first year of exclusive live coverage in the UK Streaming audiences on HBO Max in the UK have grown across all key metrics Daily free-to-air highlights on 5 are averaging more than half a million viewers, further expanding access to the race
THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES ENTERS NEW ERA WITH TNT SPORTS AND HBO MAX SET TO DELIVER NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN VIEWING EXPERIENCE
• Every event exclusively live at Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games across all HBO Max plans in U.K and Ireland • First-ever ‘Commonwealth Games 360’ channel, on TV and HBO Max, ensuring fans never miss a key moment. • Featuring a stellar line-up of global stars boasting 165 major competition gold medals
NEW FEATURES SET TO BOOST COVERAGE OF EVERY STAGE OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE ACROSS EUROPE ON HBO MAX
Coverage of every stage of the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will be shown live across Europe by Warner Bros. Discovery this July and August Unique mountain top studio on Alpe d’Huez scales coverage to new heights New streaming features step up the viewing experience with every angle covered on HBO Max
WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY BRINGS WIMBLEDON 2026 TO FANS ACROSS 12 MARKETS IN EUROPE ON HBO MAX, EUROSPORT AND TNT SPORTS
HBO Max will stream every match live from The Championships, Wimbledon in 11 countries across Europe with wall-to-wall coverage on Eurosport TNT Sports will broadcast a daily special programme from the grounds as well as showing the Singles Finals live in the UK Former World No.4 Johanna Konta joins presenter Rachel Stringer to provide on-site expertise, storytelling and analysis throughout the tournament
‘THE GOLDEN ARROWS’: NEW AWARDS SET TO CELEBRATE EXCELLENCE ACROSS WHOOP UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD SERIES
New annual WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series awards gala will honour teams, organisations and individuals across several categories Mountain Bike Hall of Fame to form part of this year’s awards ceremony, with four new inductees
