Patrick McEnroe Tabs American Man To Win U.S. Open

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 lucifer connected Day One of the 2025 US Open astatine USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center connected August 24, 2025 successful the Flushing vicinity of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

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An American man hasn’t won the U.S. Open since Andy Roddick successful 2003.

George W. Bush was President astatine the time.

The first iPhone was still astir 3 1/2 years distant from being released.

And Ben Shelton was little than a twelvemonth old.

Yet arsenic we caput 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 connected Sept. 13 successful Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“I’m picking Big Ben, I’m going for it,” McEnroe said Monday connected an ESPN convention telephone up of the Open. “I for illustration Shelton to triumph the Open, and I tin extremity getting this mobility aft 20-some years. ‘When’s the adjacent American going to triumph a major?’ I’m sick of it, I’m tired of it.'”

Whoever hoists the trophy will return location a grounds $5.5 cardinal successful prize money.

Shelton, the huge-serving 23-year-old left-hander, is coming disconnected defending his title astatine the Canadian Open wherever he defeated chap American Brandon Nakashima to declare the trophy without dropping a group crossed his six matches.

He besides hit Joao Fonseca, Jacub Mensik and Learner Tien en way to the final.

With his victory, Shelton became the 4th man this period to successfully take sides the Canada title aft Andy Murray (2009-10), Novak Djokovic (2011-12) and Rafael Nadal (2018-19).

"For maine to play the measurement that I played this week to spell done this tie speaks to the activity I person been putting in," Shelton said pursuing his win. "It besides speaks to my intelligence toughness, my expertise to attraction done everything that was going connected this week."

As for the Open, Shelton has had occurrence successful the past. He reached the semifinals successful 2023 but mislaid successful the 3rd information the past 2 years, to chap American Frances Tiafoe successful 5 sets successful 2024 and to Adrian Mannarino successful 4 successful 2025.

The men’s tie is peculiarly unsettled this twelvemonth because world No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew pinch a knee wounded while defending champion and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz hasn’t played a competitory lucifer since April and has been retired since past pinch a wrist injury.

Those injuries unfastened the doorway for a number of different players, including French Open champion Alexander Zverev, Americans Shelton, Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, and a group of young internationals players for illustration Spain’s Rafael Jodar, France’s Arthur Fils (who conscionable hit Tiafoe to triumph the Cincinnati Open) and Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.

Per DraftKings, Alcaraz is the betting favorite, followed by Zverev, 24-time awesome victor Novak Djokovic and past Shelton.

“Obviously, if Alcaraz comes backmost and gets done a fewer matches, and looks good, he’ll quickly go the favorite,” McEnroe said. "He’s a favourite correct now, but he’ll quickly go a bigger favorite.

"But the truth that he hasn’t played since the spring, pinch Sinner out, this is conscionable a monster opportunity [for the Americans]…

“I put Shelton arsenic the apical guy. For me, he has the champion chance pinch his service and I for illustration what I saw from him a batch successful Canada. I thought the return crippled looked a batch better, and to maine that’s ever been the point that he’s sewage to amended upon the astir if he wants to triumph of the these large ones.”

ESPN’s Mary Joe Fernandez added that this whitethorn beryllium the champion chance for the American men to break the drought.

“Of each the men’s majors, this is the 1 that’s astir wide open,” she said. “So for the Americans, a large opportunity, for sure.”