John McEnroe Backs Ben Shelton To End American Men’s Grand Slam Title Drought in Future: “I Put Him at the Top”

Ben Shelton was the second American man to reach a Grand Slam final since Andy Roddick‘s victory at the 2003 US Open. Shelton, after stunning defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of the US Open, knocked out compatriot Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals but ended up losing in the final to Alexander Zverev.

Before Shelton, Taylor Fritz came close to ending America’s men’s Major title drought when he reached the final of the 2024 US Open. But he lost in straight sets to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

After his win over Juan Carlos Ferrero at the 2003 US Open, Roddick reached four more finals: three at Wimbledon (2004, 2005, and 2009) and another in his home Slam (2006). But in all these matches, 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer defeated him.

American former World No. 1 John McEnroe, who won seven Grand Slam singles titles, including four US Open titles, predicted which American man could win a Major in the future.

People ask me all the time when we are going to get an American winning a Grand Slam, and I put Ben at the top of the list. We wait to see what happens with players like [Jakub] Mensik or [Joao] Fonseca and whether these young kids can get over the hump and challenge [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz.

John McEnroe said (H/T: Tennis365)

Sinner and Alcaraz dominated the Majors from the 2024 season until Zverev ended their duopoly in the French Open final, where he defeated Flavio Cobolli to end his Major title drought.

Or will Sascha Zverev be dominant and win a few more Grand Slams over the next few years? Carlos and Jannik were a long way ahead of the rest for the last couple of years, and injuries have stopped that this year, so it’s an interesting question moving forward who will step up?

John McEnroe added

Alcaraz and Sinner’s 2026 seasons have been marred by injuries: the Spaniard was forced to skip the French Open and Wimbledon because of a wrist injury, while Sinner sat on the sidelines at the US Open with a knee injury. Now he’ll also miss the Shanghai Masters.

Ben Shelton on what’s the hardest thing about the ATP Tour

Ben Shelton recently sat for an interview with The Healthy during which he talked about what he finds the hardest thing about playing tennis. Well, it’s competing non-stop on the tour for 11 months.

Yeah. For me, it’s been a lot, I guess, mentally and physically. I think the hardest part is that the tour doesn’t stop. It’s not really like you finish the U.S. Open, you get to relax. I’ve got to prepare for the end of the year, the Asian swing, the Europe swing after that. I guess that’s kind of been the hardest part with dealing with everything.

Following the US Open, the American ace competed in the Davis Cup and skipped the Laver Cup. He was next scheduled to compete at the Japan Open, but he withdrew.

Shelton will next be competing at the Shanghai Masters, which kicks off on October 7. The 23-year-old is a one-time quarterfinalist in Shanghai, reaching the stage on his debut in 2023.

So far this season, Shelton has played five finals, losing only the US Open. He won the Dallas Open and the Stuttgart Open by beating compatriot Taylor Fritz, the BMW Open by defeating Flavio Cobolli, and the Canadian Open by beating Brandon Nakashima.

Shelton is a two-time champion in Masters 1000s, winning the Canadian Open in 2025 and 2026. Except for his win in Montreal, he failed to reach the fourth round of the other Masters 1000s he has played so far this season.

Also read: Stefanos Tsitsipas Opens Up About His Decision to Split With Dad Apostolos As Coach