Ben Shelton has moved one step closer to winning his first Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open.
Shelton has moved past controversy in his last match, and beaten in-form Alex de Minaur to reach the semifinals of a Masters 1000 event for the first time.
The world number seven has been particularly impressive on his serve, something Shelton believes has improved recently.
It has been a very successful Canadian Open for American men, and now Shelton has made a big prediction about what could happen in the near future.
Ben Shelton believes an American man will win a Grand Slam soon
There is already guaranteed to be an American finalist at the Canadian Open, with Shelton playing his compatriot Taylor Fritz in the semifinals.
While there have been American men including Fritz winning Masters 1000 titles, there has not been a Grand Slam champion since 2003.
That was when Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003, but Shelton thinks the drought for American men’s tennis is going to end soon.
“No pressure, definitely motivation,” Shelton said in his press conference after beating De Minaur. “I have no doubt that one of us is going to get it at some point. Who knows who it is, you guys just got to wait and see. I think American tennis is in a really good place.”
American women have won two Grand Slams already this year, and it appears that the men are getting closer too.
Last year, Fritz reached the US Open final and became the first American Grand Slam finalist since Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009.
| Grand Slam | Last American Men’s Champion | Last American Men’s Finalist |
| Australian Open | Andre Agassi (2003) | Andre Agassi (2003) |
| Roland Garros | Andre Agassi (1999) | Andre Agassi (1999) |
| Wimbledon | Pete Sampras (2000) | Andy Roddick (2009) |
| US Open | Andy Roddick (2003) | Taylor Fritz (2024) |
Ben Shelton reveals what he told Taylor Townsend about playing the US Open mixed event together
The US Open is the next chance for American men to end the drought, but Shelton is not just playing singles in New York.
As part of the revamped US Open mixed doubles event, Shelton will be partnering new doubles world number one Taylor Townsend.
When discussing his upcoming partnership with Townsend, Shelton revealed that she is the only player he would have entered the mixed doubles event with.
“Yeah, she’s the best female doubles player in the world,” Shelton said about Townsend. “She’s the best mixed doubles player in the world, in my opinion. I was lucky to get her as a partner.
“I don’t know if anyone else talked to her, she told me that the only person she would play with is me, and I told her that the only person I would play with is her.
“So I was unsure about playing the week before the US Open, the pre-week is really busy, it’s a difficult week, a lot of responsibilities. But I’m excited, and ultimately, when I saw the list of all the top players who wanted to play, it was something I wanted to be a part of.”
Before Shelton can think about playing doubles with Townsend, he will look to reach his first Masters 1000 final in Toronto.
If he is to achieve that feat, Shelton will have to overcome Fritz in just a second-time meeting between the two Americans.
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