BBC pundit says there’s an American player who can do serious ‘damage’ at Wimbledon this year

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American tennis is thriving at the moment, with Coco Gauff naturally at the forefront.

Having risen to second in the WTA world rankings with her performance at Roland Garros, the 20-year-old is an inspiration to many, and capable of creating a lasting legacy should she maintain her trajectory and find a way to upset Iga Swiatek’s reign.

However, on the men’s side, they lack that flag-bearing frontrunner, with a number of impressive stars who are not quite yet at the Grand Slam-challenging level just yet.

Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe are the main men, and yet it is another American who has caught the eye of John Lloyd.

John Lloyd predicts big things for Sebastian Korda

The pundit, speaking on BBC Sport just yesterday, was just full of praise for Sebastian Korda.

Whilst the 23-year-old might often be overshadowed by this wealth of talent ahead of him, the youngster is quietly rising up the rankings, sneaking up on his compatriots with his brilliant tennis.

The grass is certainly his friend at the moment, and Lloyd now thinks that should he maintain this form, the top ten awaits.

He noted: ‘I have always thought he has top 10 potential Korda but he has struggled with injuries. I guarantee you he looks forward to this period of the year because if he without the injuries hits form then he is obviously doing damage here and he can do damage at Wimbledon as well. He is a very tough player to play on grass, when he is playing well.’

Sebastian Korda is looking brilliant on grass ahead of Wimbledon

Kickstarting his grass-court leg of the season in Rosmalen, the American was not expected to pull up any trees despite having performed well on this surface in the past.

Just a year earlier, he had reached the semifinals of Queen’s before losing to the eventual winner Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz even praised Korda earlier this year for his growth.

But few expected he might then beat Paul and Talon Griekspoor to reach the final, losing narrowly to Alex de Minaur.

Now seeking to mimic his Queen’s success again this year, with a chance to reach the semi-final should he overcome Rinki Hijikata, there are few in finer form on the grass than Korda.

Perhaps Wimbledon is coming at the perfect time for the young USA tennis star to truly make his mark at a major and establish himself as one of the more difficult opponents to face.