Veteran endorsement: Sam Querrey and Tracy Austin bet on the same Roland‑Garros contender

“So she’s losing earlier, but she’s won Roland Garros four times, and she’s won Rome three times. She’s got a new coach, Francisco Roig.

“It was so new before Stuttgart, where she lost early. Maybe a few more weeks in, they’ve worked on her serve.

Austin continued: “And also, when you walk into a place where you’ve won four times, I think she’s going to get that good feeling. So that’s number four.

She added: “Then Rybakina is my number three. I think people forget that she won here in Rome. And Rybakina has won 27 matches already this year. And then she won Stuttgart, she won Stuttgart on clay.

“She beat Andreeva, by the way, in straight sets, and then she also beat [Karolina] Muchova. What’s great about it is there are so many players you can put in this top four.”

Sabalenka backed as top pick by Querrey and Austin ahead of Roland Garros

Returning to the topic of French Open favourites, Querrey stuck with last year’s top two finalists for his current picks.

“Top two, last year’s defending champion, Coco Gauff,” he said. “The results have been a little inconsistent for her, but she had the run in Miami, right?

“She’s been playing better lately, and she’s the defending champion there, and I still feel like clay is her best surface. So she’s my number two.

“And number one, who else? Sabalenka, right? She’s been number one in the world now for a couple years. She’s been so dominant, really on all surfaces.

“I know she didn’t win Roland Garros last year, but that match in the final, windy day, was it was a battle, but I still feel like she is the favorite heading into Roland Garros.”

Austin added: “This kills me and I love it at the same time is I agree with Sam on both of those.

“But I think Coco, because she moves so well on the surface, she can lift that forehand and kind of extract mistakes, plays so well with her movement.

“And then Sabalenka, I think that she is a better player this year. She mentally lost that match last year because of the wind, and she got down on herself. I think she’s improved in that area.”

The Belarusian has certainly maintained her form at the top level. Sabalenka is spending her 82nd straight week as world No 1 while competing in Rome.

This remarkable stretch should give her plenty of confidence heading into Paris, while Gauff will also be buoyed by that hard-fought comeback win in 2025.

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