'He can actually take Alcaraz and Sinner out,' Mats Wilander names dark horse for US Open 2025

Former world number one Mats Wilander has picked America’s Ben Shelton as the ‘dark horse’ for the upcoming US Open. The fourth and the final Grand Slam of the year will begin on August 24 where players from all over the world. In the men’s singles category, it will be world number one Jannik Sinner who will be defending his title. He won the competition for the first time in 2024 where he defeated Americas’ Taylor Fritz in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.

Seven-time Grand Slam winner Wilander has recently spoken to TNT Sports, where he picked Shelton as a dark horse to go all the way and fight for the title with the likes of Sinner and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz. Wilander believes Shelton will have a serious chance of competing against the best in the world if he serves well on the day. Wilander also credited Germany’s Alexander Zverev as one of the dark horses of the competition and believes that he can go deep into the competition.

"I have to say, when you mention the Canadian Open, my dark horse is the American Ben Shelton," said Wilander. “Some of it is because of the results that he's had lately, but most of it is just because of the way that he plays. He can actually, I think, take these two guys [Alcaraz and Sinner] out. If he has a great serving day, then I think he's the dark horse. But I think we need to give credit to Alexander Zverev again. Is he ever going to win one [a Grand Slam]? Possibly. But he's still there. He gets to the later rounds. He doesn't really lose to lower-rank players, and he could have a huge serving day. So to me, I still put [Zverev] as a dark horse when it comes to a Grand Slam tournament because he knows what he's doing. He's just up against two great players. But Ben Shelton, to me, is the dark horse of the men's tournament."

Shelton is having an impressive season, where he has won 35 out of 52 matches and suffered 17 defeats. His best performance this year came while playing in the Canadian Open, where he lifted his maiden ATP 1000 title after beating Russia’s Karen Khachanov in the final with a score of 6-7, 6-4, 7-6. Shelton’s most recent appearance in a singles competition came at the Cincinnati Open, where he was knocked out after losing in the quarterfinal to Zverev in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2.

Impressive performances

Shelton has a decent record while playing at the US Open. In just three appearances in the main draw of the competition, Shelton has already played in the semifinal. That appearance came in the 2023 edition, where he eventually lost to former world number one Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-2, 7-6. Last year, Shelton did not have a great outing at the Flashing Meadows, where he was knocked out after losing in the third round to fellow American Frances Tiafoe in a five-set thriller with a score of 4-6, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.

This year, Shelton produced decent performances at Grand Slams. His best performance came at the Australian Open, where he was eventually knocked out after losing in the semifinal to defending champion Sinner in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-2, 6-2. At the French Open, Shelton’s journey was cut short as he was knocked out after losing in the fourth round to Alcaraz with a score of 7-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. At Wimbledon, Shelton failed at the quarterfinals stage as he lost to Sinner once again, this time too in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-4, 6-4.