John McEnroe shares when he thinks Ben Shelton will reach his full potential

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Ben Shelton enjoyed a run to the last 16 of Wimbledon this year but it’s fair to say that his career has yet to really catch fire.

The American player showed some flashes of what he can do during his first three matches at The All England club.

Shelton came through the first three rounds before losing in straight sets to Jannik Sinner in the last 16.

The 21-year-old has bags of time on his side and he has actually reached the semi-final of the US Open during his career.

He is one of the brightest prospects in American tennis at the moment and John McEnroe has some high hopes for him.

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What John McEnroe has said about Ben Shelton after Wimbledon

Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul reached the quarter-final at Wimbledon, whilst Frances Tiafoe almost beat Carlos Alcaraz in round three.

However, McEnroe has the highest hopes of all for Shelton – but he does think he will be bloom later when he’s a little older.

He told the Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios podcast: “Well I was hoping it’d be Ben Shelton.

“He made some great advancements and for us in America, it’d be huge.

“He wasn’t just focused on tennis at ten years old, he played American football, a hell of an athlete, and went to college for a couple of years.

“Hopefully, he’ll peak later, maybe 20-something, 25-35.”

Shelton can go to the next level in the future

Having reached a quarter-final in Australia and made the last four at Flushing Meadows, clearly Shelton has talent.

McEnroe mentions that the youngster hasn’t lived and breathed tennis all of his life and perhaps that means he’s now playing catch up.

Shelton is the same age as Alcaraz and he’s just won his fourth Grand Slam title.

That must give the American some motivation and the player has the shots but he now just needs the mental strength to start kicking on.

Maybe McEnroe has a point and we will start to see Shelton in the business end of more tournaments as the year progresses.

Time is firmly on his side and it would seem as though the former star of the game has big hopes for Shelton going forward.

The challenge for the player is now putting converting potential into performances and hopefully, he can take heart from his Wimbledon wins.