Boris Becker tips rising American as member of new 'Big Three'

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz ensured that 2024 was the first year since 2003 when the famed Big Three of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal did not win a major.

By splitting the four majors among them, Sinner, 23, and Alcaraz, 21, essentially cemented their spots as not just the successors of the Big Three but the flagbearers of a new era of men's tennis.

So, which youngster will join Sinner and Alcaraz in the theoretical new Big Three of tennis? Some have floated names such as Jack Draper, Holger Rune, Arthur Fils and Lorenzo Musetti — all of whom are 22 or under and have shown flashes of greatness at recent majors. 

From the junior circuit, 18-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca and 17-year-old American Darwin Blanch have been earmarked as future stars. 

However, tennis great Boris Becker has a completely different name in mind concerning the next theoretical Big Three of the sport.

In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Becker identified Alcaraz and Sinner as the successors of Federer and Djokovic before explaining why American Ben Shelton could fill the void left by Nadal. 

"Now on the circuit, we have another dilemma. We need a [Rafael] Nadal to complete the new Big Three,” the German said. "The one closest to reaching the top for me is Ben Shelton. The most ready, at first, seemed to be Holger Rune, but this year he hasn’t made much progress. I watched the American [Shelton] for a long time in the Laver Cup, in singles and doubles, and I liked his attitude. He smiles, he puts on a show, he entertains and he has fun... I think that with these guys, tennis is really in good hands."

The Shelton pick is rather surprising for several reasons. The 22-year-old had a breakout season in 2023 that saw him reach the semifinals of the U.S. Open, his best major result to date, and the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. He was tipped to continue his momentum in 2024 and possibly inch closer to his first major title. 

Instead, the opposite happened, with Shelton winning just one title (ATP 250 in Houston) and maintaining a 37-24 win-loss record thus far. Besides reaching the quarterfinals in Cincinnati, Shelton has failed to make noise at any big events, suffering third-round exits at the U.S. Open, Australian Open and French Open. 

The early ouster from Flushing Meadows was particularly shocking as he was among the top-five betting favorites to win the title a year after his semifinal finish.  

Perhaps Shelton will have a turnaround season in 2025 and prove Becker right. As of this writing, though, it might be too premature to anoint him as even a candidate for the new Big Three.