Patrick Mouratoglou Reveals Whether Ben Shelton Can Challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open

Ben Shelton crashed out of the Cincinnati Open after losing to Alexander Zverev in straight sets.

Patrick Mouratoglou Reveals Whether Ben Shelton Can Challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open

Patrick Mouratoglou, Ben Shelton, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannik Sinner (via X/Danny/The Tennis Letter)

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Ben Shelton has been the best American male player since Wimbledon. The 22-year-old has broken into the Top 10 and is now ranked World No.6 in the ATP rankings. He has been tipped to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at the 2025 US Open just weeks after claiming his first Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open.

He made a swift return to the court at the Cincinnati Open after winning the Toronto Masters. There, he claimed straight-set victories against Camilo Ugo Carabelli, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Jiri Lehecka before reaching the quarter-finals of the tournament. But he didn’t proceed further as he fell to Alexander Zverev in straight sets.

The World No.6 was not at his best against the German star, serving just 12 aces and winning only four of his 19 second serve points, while Zverev won 81 percent of his first serve and was never broken in the match. The loss marked the end of Shelton’s nine-match winning streak ahead of the US Open.

Shelton has been backed by former World No.1 Lindsay Davenport to win the US Open even though Sinner and Alcaraz have won the last seven Grand Slams and are favorites to win at Flushing Meadows. The former Houston champion stands as America’s male favorite player to win the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003.

With the discussion about Shelton’s chances of winning the US Open growing, Patrick Mouratoglou gave his verdict on it in a video on Instagram. The former Serena Williams’ coach revealed that he has a chance of winning it because of his tricky playing style on the court:

For Ben Shelton, winning a Masters 1000 is huge. This is the last stage before winning a Grand Slam, so it’s big.Can he challenge [Carlos] Alcaraz and [Jannik] Sinner? Yes and no. Today it’s difficult to imagine, those guys are really playing incredible tennis. But Ben [Shelton] has things that the others don’t. He has this incredible serve, second of all, he’s a lefty, which is a big advantage too. I would say, third, he’s really unpredictable, and he has the belief.

Shelton’s best run at the US Open came in 2023, when he reached the semi-finals before losing to Novak Djokovic. However, the American star has been in good form in Grand Slam tournaments this season, reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open before making it to the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon Championships.

Alexander Zverev struggles with his health during his win over Ben Shelton

Alexander Zverev ended Ben Shelton’s hopes of reaching three consecutive semi-finals on tour. The 22-year-old had reached the semi-finals in Washington, crowned champion in Toronto before arriving at Cincinnati. Zverev needed just an hour and 17 minutes to beat the Canadian Open champion 6-2, 6-2 and book his place in the last four.

Ben Shelton and Alexander Zverev (via X/The Tennis Letter/National Bank Open)
Ben Shelton and Alexander Zverev (via X/The Tennis Letter/National Bank Open)

However, during the match, Zverev struggled with his own health. The World No.3 called for a doctor while leading 2-1 in the second set as he was struggling with his breathing. After the match, he revealed that he was not feeling great and was unsure why he struggled with his health:

Right now I’m not feeling too great… I’m not sure what happened. I came out today and probably felt the best I’ve felt in a few months. Was feeling the ball incredibly well from both sides. In the first set, I started feeling not so great, and it got progressively worse. But I’m in the semi-finals and I’ll do everything I can be be 100 per cent tomorrow.

Zverev will face Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final of the Cincinnati Open. The former leads the latter 6-5 in their head-to-head and has won five of their last seven meetings on the hard court, including their most recent at the 2024 ATP Finals.

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