NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 24: Ben Shelton of the United States reacts against Ignacio Buse of Peru during their Men’s Singles First Round match on Day One of the 2025 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 24, 2025 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Getty Images
An American man hasn’t won the U.S. Open since Andy Roddick in 2003.
George W. Bush was President at the time.
The first iPhone was still about 3 1/2 years away from being released.
And Ben Shelton was less than a year old.
Yet as we head into this year’s U.S. Open, Patrick McEnroe is tabbing Shelton, the No. 8 seed from Atlanta, to break the drought and hoist the trophy on Sept. 13 in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I’m picking Big Ben, I’m going for it,” McEnroe said Monday on an ESPN conference call ahead of the Open. “I like Shelton to win the Open, and I can stop getting this question after 20-some years. ‘When’s the next American going to win a major?’ I’m sick of it, I’m tired of it.’”
Whoever hoists the trophy will take home a record $5.5 million in prize money.
Shelton, the huge-serving 23-year-old left-hander, is coming off defending his title at the Canadian Open where he defeated fellow American Brandon Nakashima to claim the trophy without dropping a set across his six matches.
He also beat Joao Fonseca, Jacub Mensik and Learner Tien en route to the final.
With his victory, Shelton became the fourth man this century to successfully defend the Canada title after Andy Murray (2009-10), Novak Djokovic (2011-12) and Rafael Nadal (2018-19).
“For me to play the way that I played this week to go through this draw speaks to the work I have been putting in,” Shelton said following his win. “It also speaks to my mental toughness, my ability to focus through everything that was going on this week.”
As for the Open, Shelton has had success in the past. He reached the semifinals in 2023 but lost in the third round the last two years, to fellow American Frances Tiafoe in five sets in 2024 and to Adrian Mannarino in four in 2025.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 03: Ben Shelton of the United States reacts during his match against Tommy Paul of the United States during their Men’s Singles Fourth Round match on Day Seven of the 2023 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 03, 2023 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Getty Images
The men’s draw is particularly unsettled this year because world No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew with a knee injury while defending champion and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz hasn’t played a competitive match since April and has been out since then with a wrist injury.
Those injuries open the door for a number of other players, including French Open champion Alexander Zverev, Americans Shelton, Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, and a group of young internationals players like Spain’s Rafael Jodar, France’s Arthur Fils (who just beat Tiafoe to win the Cincinnati Open) and Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.
Per DraftKings, Alcaraz is the betting favorite, followed by Zverev, 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic and then Shelton.
“Obviously, if Alcaraz comes back and gets through a few matches, and looks good, he’ll quickly become the favorite,” McEnroe said. “He’s a favorite right now, but he’ll quickly become a bigger favorite.
“But the fact that he hasn’t played since the spring, with Sinner out, this is just a monster opportunity [for the Americans]…
“I put Shelton as the top guy. For me, he has the best chance with his serve and I like what I saw from him a lot in Canada. I thought the return game looked a lot better, and to me that’s always been the thing that he’s got to improve upon the most if he wants to win of the these big ones.”
ESPN’s Mary Joe Fernandez added that this may be the best chance for the American men to break the drought.
“Of all the men’s majors, this is the one that’s most wide open,” she said. “So for the Americans, a big opportunity, for sure.”