John McEnroe has backed Ben Shelton to end America’s long drought without a men’s singles champion at the US Open, but he admits the ‘lack of accessibility’ remains a big problem for American kids looking to make a break into tennis.
Shelton will aim to become the first American male to win his home Grand Slam since Andy Roddick’s win back in 2003 if he beats Alexander Zverev’s in Sunday’s final in New York, with McEnroe convinced he can get the job done.
The pressure will be piled onto Shelton as he aims to end America’s long wait and McEnroe is backing the Florida-born player to prevail, even though he has lost all five of his previous matches against Zverev.
“Ben played the match of his life to beat Alcaraz,” said McEnroe in his role as a Eurosport and HBO Max analyst.
“It was not the best thing for our game that the best match of the tournament was finishing at 3.30am. I spoke to Ben yesterday and he didn’t get to bed to 7.30am, which is not great.
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“But he showed what he was made of and what he can do. It’s a shame a lot of people didn’t see it at that time in the morning, but Ben has a big chance to win this thing now and I think he’s gonna do it.”
McEnroe also reflected on why America has not had a US Open champion in over two decades in the men’s draw, as he believes the interest in other sports is a factor that sees some of the country’s best talent slip through the tennis net.
“It feels to me that tennis is more accessible in other countries, especially Europe,” said McEnroe.
“In our country, to be blunt, the accessibility is a big issue. The best athletes play American football, basketball, in some cases, soccer. You have the affordability issues and tennis is expensive.
“You see in the women’s game that there are more opportunities because equal prize money and the best athletes like Serena Williams end up playing tennis.
“I try to provide more opportunity for kids at my club and for kids that otherwise couldn’t afford it. There’s a great history in Europe.
“There’s a great history in America for tennis, but it is a long time since we had a men’s winner at the US Open.
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“So it would be big if it happens this year. We also need to look at ways to get more kids playing tennis in America and I do that at my club by trying to give kids a chance who might not ordinarily play the sport, but it’s not easy.”
The emergence of the Williams sisters sparked a huge surge of interest in tennis in the black communities in America and after Shelton became the first person of colour to reach the US Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972, his success could also be a catalyst for a new generation of kids setting their sights on a career in the sport.
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