Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz shown up by surprising star before French Open

Tennis fans might be shocked to learn who has been the game's most successful male player on clay in the past five years. The at Roland Garros gets underway next month, with the current Madrid Open forming an integral part of the build-up.

The returning Jannik Sinner will head in as the No.1 seed. However, it's Carlos Alcaraz who is the defending champion after winning the Grand Slam for the first time last year, following in the footsteps of his compatriot Rafael Nadal. The 'King of Clay' remains the most dominant player in history at the tournament, finishing his career having won it 14 times.

is also expected to challenge strongly in France as he bids for a record-breaking 25th Slam title. However, the Serbian had a chastening outing at the Monte-Carlo Masters, surprisingly .

However, neither Djokovic nor Alcaraz top the list for most matches won on clay since the start of 2020. Instead, that honour goes to Casper Ruud, who lost in the final at Roland Garros to Nadal in 2022 and Djokovic a year later.

The Norwegian has won 120 matches on the surface in that period. Stefanos Tsitsipas, another player still searching for a first Slam win, is second on the list with 94.

World No.3 Alcaraz sits on 90 victories. However, it is also worth noting that the 21-year-old only made his debut in 2020, and it wasn't until the following year that he emerged as a player capable of challenging the elite.

Fourth on the list is at 85. As a result of the injury lay-offs Djokovic has endured, he doesn't even make the top five, with Paraguayan star Alexander Baez following Zverev with 81.

Ruud, 26, is likely to have played considerably more matches on clay than fellow top stars, though. His last tournament win on the surface came last year, when he beat Tsitsipas in the final of the Barcelona Open.