“We’re hoping in America he breaks out big” : John McEnroe hopes Ben Shelton can join new era ‘Big Three’ alongside Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
American tennis legend John McEnroe has given his thoughts on the new era ‘Big Three.’ He believes that Ben Shelton could join the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz to form the new Big Three. The original trio consisted of the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who share a combined of 66 Grand Slam titles among themselves.
John McEnroe believes that Ben Shelton is an extremely talented player, and has had some great results in the past 12 months. He also mentioned that the youngster played several sports during his younger days, which also included football. The seven-time Grand Slam champion stated that people in the United States are hoping for the southpaw to become one of the world’s best.
“Well I was hoping it would be Ben Shelton. He’s made some some great advancements and for us, in America, it’d be huge. He wasn’t just focused on tennis at 10 years old, he played American football. He’s a hell of an athlete,” he said.
John McEnroe hopes that Ben Shelton could peak a couple of years later, as he becomes more experienced. “Went to college for a couple of years, hopefully he’ll peak later, 25 to 35. That’s the guy potentially, but to me, it’s really difficult to say,” he added.
Nick Kyrgios opines on the new era ‘Big Three’
Nick Kyrgios believes that Novak Djokovic is still one of the top players in the world, and he recognizes him as a part of the Big Three. Carlos Alcaraz has been in some form in the last couple of months, winning the French Open and defending his Wimbledon title.
The Spaniard defeated Novak Djokovic in the finals of Wimbledon last week, winning in straight sets. Nick Kyrgios questioned as to who would likely join the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic in the current Big Three.
“You look at the level and the depth of the modern day tennis game and you look at the modern ‘Big 3’ now. You’ve got probably, Djokovic is probably still one of the big players you’d expect to go far in a Slam and you’ve got Alcaraz. Who’s that next guy? Who will be the next member of the ‘Big 3’ moving forward in the next 10 years,” Kyrgios said on his podcast.
By the looks of things, it seems that Jannik Sinner should make the cut for the current Big Three. The Italian claimed his first career Grand Slam earlier this year, when he won the 2024 Australian Open.
