John McEnroe tipped five young players for big things in 2013 – here is how they are all performing now

Follow us on Google Discover

It was the year that saw Andy Murray end Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s singles champion at Wimbledon.

Murray, who retired last year, had lost his first Wimbledon final to Roger Federer before getting revenge over the Swiss at the London Olympics.

The Brit would return to Wimbledon a year later as a Grand Slam champion, having won his first major title at the 2012 US Open.

After the heartbreak of the previous year, Murray made sure that it wasn’t going to happen again and beat Djokovic in straight sets to become the first British champion of the men’s singles event at Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.

Ironically, Murray coached Djokovic at the Australian Open 12 years later, at the tournament where he had previously lost four finals to the Serbian.

Djokovic won his third consecutive Australian Open after beating Murray in 2013, while Rafael Nadal continued to cement his legacy at Roland Garros and also won the US Open.

While Murray, Djokovic and Nadal were already at the top of the game in 2013, John McEnroe was picking the next set of players to breakthrough.

John McEnroe tips five young players for big things in 2013

McEnroe is known for sharing his opinions, and continues to do so as a pundit and commentator these days.

In May 2013, McEnroe was speaking at the Tennis Channel Media Conference and was asked a plethora of questions on different topics.

One of those questions was related to up-and-comers at the time, and McEnroe named Grigor Dimitrov, Milos Raonic, Bernard Tomic, Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock as five players he saw potential in.

McEnroe was particularly big on Dimitrov and Raonic, but was aware of the obstacles facing young players at the time.

“I’m always looking around for those guys,” said McEnroe. “Obviously there was that group of four or five guys. Dimitrov has finally taken a step in the right direction, I think he was certainly top‑five material. I think Raonic has the ability to break easily into the top 10, top five potentially.

“The other guys, it’s a little bit more clear. Tomic has issues with his father. Certainly we want and need desperately for Americans. Ryan Harrison I always felt was a solid player, top‑20 potential. I didn’t see that individual sort of trait that would separate him with some of these other guys. There’s something about some of these guys that they have that extra potential gear.

“I like Jack Sock quite a bit, but I don’t know exactly what’s happening as far as his commitment, training. I think at times he’s made some positive steps.

“But I’m clearly hopeful that someone comes along that will shake things up, particularly if he’s American and sort of brings some juice back to what’s going on in America, bring some more interest. Obviously right now you’re just talking about sort of the other four guys, who if anyone can possibly win a major.

“I think it’s pretty clear to see when you watch the sport that it appears to be more difficult than ever for a teenager, even someone in their early 20’s, to break through the way [Boris] Becker did, [Mats] Wilander at the French, [Pete] Sampras. Nadal may be the last guy that as a teenager‑‑ I shouldn’t really say that.

“You always say it’s impossible. It does seem because of the physicality of the game, it’s difficult to see those 18, 19, 20‑year‑olds be able to jump and win majors.

“At the same time something is going to change. I keep saying this. In the next year or two, someone is going to make that breakthrough. I wish I knew who it was. I don’t know yet. I would still go with the first two I mentioned.”

At that point in time, Tomic was the only player to make a big breakthrough at a Grand Slam tournament having reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals as an 18-year-old qualifier in 2011.

What has happened to those five players since May 2013?

McEnroe was certainly right to specifically focus on Dimitrov and Raonic, with both players going onto reach a career-high ranking of world number three.

Although Raonic’s current activity on the ATP Tour is very limited, he is the only player that McEnroe picked to have reached a Grand Slam final.

This came at Wimbledon in 2016, where Raonic’s serve proved a nightmare for opponents before he was eventually beaten by the aforementioned Murray.

Dimitrov on the other hand is still very much an active player, and is only just ranked outside the top 10.

Last year saw Dimitrov win the Brisbane title, which was his first in seven years, before going onto reach the final of the Miami Open.

It has been a tricky start to the 2025 season for the Bulgarian, who has struggled with a hip injury and retired from his last two matches.

Tomic has struggled to live up to the hype that McEnroe set for him, and is the only player out of the five not to have bettered his Grand Slam results since 2013.

The Australian plays more on the lower level Challenger Tour these days, with Tomic having been involved in controversy both on and off the court.

However, the 32-year-old has recently been able to play his first Grand Slam event in three years at the Australian Open, where he lost in the first round of qualifying.

This leads onto the two retired players from the five in Sock and Harrison, who have both had varying degrees of success.

Sock had a significantly better singles career than Harrison, with his best result coming at the Paris Masters where he won the title in 2017 and subsequently broke into the top 10.

The American also won four Grand Slam doubles titles before announcing his retirement in 2023.

Despite retiring from tennis, Sock has hinted at a comeback alongside Nick Kyrgios for a tournament later this year.

Whereas the vast majority of Harrison’s success came on the doubles court, highlighted by his Roland Garros victory alongside Michael Venus in 2017.

Harrison retired in January 2024 at the age of 31, having won one singles title and four doubles titles.

These once sought out players are now either retired or in the latter stages of their respective careers, with the next crop of young talent now arriving.