By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Photo credit: Garrett Ellwood/USTA/US Open
The King is a major outlier now.
Grand Slam king Novak Djokovic is the last man not named Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz to win a Grand Slam singles crown.
In fact, the world’s top two-ranked men have combined to capture eight of the last nine majors with only Djokovic’s 2023 US Open triumph preventing a complete Sincaraz sweep in that span.
Based on the dominance of World No. 1 Sinner and No. 2 Alcaraz is it probable the pair will combine to capture every Grand Slam championship for the next two to three years?
Yes and no says ESPN analyst Patrick McEnroe.
Tennis Now put that question to Patrick McEnroe and Mary Joe Fernandez on today’s ESPN video conference call with the media to promote the network’s US Open coverage starting on Sunday.
Patrick McEnroe asserts we will see Sincaraz sweep all major titles in the coming years except for this US Open.
In a bold prediction, McEnroe says an American man will dethrone Sinner and win the US Open.
Full disclosure: Patrick McEnroe was not imbibing the Open’s famed Honey Deuce cocktail during this interview, nor did he appear to be suffering a fever dream approaching the 18th anniversary of the last U.S. team to capture the Davis Cup.
Yet, he is seriously sincere an American man—perhaps 2023 finalist Taylor Fritz, Toronto champion Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul or former US Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe—will break that ignominious streak and rule Flushing Meadows on September 7th.
“I’ll go out on a limb right now: There will be an American winning the US Open this year on the men’s side,” McEnroe told Tennis Now. “I’m not gonna say which one because I think there’s a couple of guys that have a chance.
“To answer your overall question: I do think that Sinner and Alcaraz over the next three four years will dominate.
“Do I think they’re gonna win every single Slam? No.
“Something tells me that we’re in for a little bit of a surprise this year at the Open and that’s why I’m gonna say there’s gonna be an American man winning this year’s US Open. You can try to figure out which one that is because I’m not gonna tell you.”
It’s been 22 years since Andy Roddick defeated David Nalbandian and Juan Carlos Ferrero back-to-back clad in a Reebok shirt that looked like the NYC subway map to win the 2003 US Open. To put that U.S. drought into perspective, Ferrero has been a part of more Slam titles (5) coaching Carlos Alcaraz in the last three years than all American men have won major singles titles in the last two decades.
Still, McEnroe is adamant this is the time for an American man to rise up and win the US Open.
Mary Joe Fernandez told Tennis Now she believes Sinner and Alcaraz will split the Slam spoils for the next couple of years, however she can envision 2023 US Open semifinalist Shelton breaking that stronghold and winning a maiden major in the coming years.
“I think those two guys for the next two years are the ones to beat,” Fernandez told Tennis Now. “Can someone like a Ben Shelton disrupt them? Yes, I think so.
“I’ve been really happy with his progress and seeing him develop as a player. I still think he’s got a lot of improvement left to go. But he’s got weapons. He’s another entertainer, another player who really has fun out there. But if he continues on this path of improving he can be someone that can disrupt them. There’s a few others, but it’s gonna be tough because these two guys [Sinner and Alcaraz] have really set the bar high.”
Indeed, Shelton has reached quarterfinals or better in four of his last 11 Grand Slam appearances and has played like a man on a mission to master a major.
The good news: The left-handed Shelton owns a lethal serve, a heavy lefty forehand and is comfortable closing net at crunch time. Shelton is holding serve 87 percent this season which is fourth on the ATP Tour behind only Sinner (91 percent), Fritz (88 percent) and Djokovic (88 percent).
That bad news: Shelton’s return game remains a work in progress. He’s 46th on Tour in return games won, tends to play more tiebreakers than other US Open contenders and his backhand, while improved, can still be stiff and suspect when it comes to hitting backhand passing shots on the run.
Still, Shelton has a love of the big stage and a massive game to match. He also has the ability to channel emotional energy from enthusiastic crowds into dynamic play on court. So could Shelton be the one to prove McEnroe’s prediction right?
“Tennis seems to be a sport that has young champions all the time, which is not common or normal, it’s ultra impressive,” Shelton said after his Toronto title run, which saw him gut out three 7-6-in-the-third set victories. “Yeah, I hope that this week kind of kick starts me and gets me more consistent with the type of tennis that I want to play day-in and day-out.
“It’s certainly going to push me to work harder. I feel like I have a good grasp now on the things that really work for me against guys who are playing some of the best tennis in the world, and the things that I need to continue to work on.”
