US Open: Christopher Eubanks, Ben Shelton and Holger Rune lead our pick of men to watch out for in New York
The US Open can be the place where dreams are made of, in the city that never sleeps as we look at five men who could cause an upset or two at this year's tournament; watch US Open live on Sky Sports from Monday, August 28
Saturday 26 August 2023 21:23, UK
ATP Next Gen stars and a young Wimbledon champion are among our pick of the five men's names to watch at this year's US Open, and beyond.
Ben Shelton
Before the start of the year, Ben Shelton had never even been outside of the USA, focusing purely on Futures and Challenger tournaments in the US. But he started the year in Adelaide and Auckland before making an inspired run at the Australian Open to reach the quarter-finals.
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In 2004, the Grand Slam landscape changed dramatically with wins being dominated by players from Europe, with Argentines Gaston Gaudio (French Open 2004) and Juan Martin Del Potro (US Open 2009) breaking the European deadlock.
A new crop of American players are emerging, with huge serves, solid, attacking baseline play but just as adept in coming to the net to finish off the points.
After his Australian Open success, it has been almost entirely a full year for Shelton on the tour, and he has a debut at the ATP Next Gen finals in his sights.
He loved being the centre of attention in Melbourne, and in front of a boisterous home crowd, he will be confident of bettering his Flushing Meadows best of a first-round exit last year.
Henry Searle
While most people will certainly have heard of Henry Searle as the Wolverhampton teenager won the Wimbledon boys' singles title this year, maybe a handful might have remembered that he also made it to the French Open boys' singles quarter-finals too.
A huge server, and a left-hander, we might have to wait a few years to see Searle on the main draw stage of a Grand Slam but after having made his junior Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon last year, he has already impressed on the bigger stage.
Searle is currently ranked world No 5 in the ITF Junior rankings and as such, we should expect him to be one of the names in contention for the US Open junior title.
If he can stay clear of injuries - he will be a very exciting British prospect to watch in the coming years.
Sebastian Korda
Another American hope might have a familiar sounding name as his father Petr Korda claimed the 1998 Australian Open title, before leaving the Czech Republic and settling in the US.
With famous golfing siblings Nelly and Jessica Korda, their little brother started the year strongly, reaching the finals in Adelaide and the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, but had to retire with an elbow injury that sidelined him for three months.
His comeback after injury initially looked good with a run to the Queen's Club semi-finals and his run to back-to-back finals at the end of last season in the indoor hard-court season makes him a decent outlier to watch, if he can get his rhythm back.
Christopher Eubanks
At 27, Eubanks plied his trade predominantly on the ATP Challenger Tour with a smattering of tour level events until this year, when his career caught light with his run to the Wimbledon quarter-final - his best Grand Slam performance.
Even though he beat Britain's Cameron Norrie, who reached the semi-finals in 2022, in the first round, his epic five-setter against Stefanos Tsitsipas won him legions of fans, and on home turf, he could well set his sights beyond his best of the second round in 2022.
Holger Rune
While already an ATP Masters 1000 champion in Paris last year, and two Grand Slam quarter-finals to his name, Holger Rune is hotly tipped to be adding Grand Slams to his haul of titles very soon.
Under the guidance of Patrick Mouratoglou, it is surely only a matter of time before the feisty Dane is challenging for the biggest prizes in tennis.
The US Open on Sky Sports: How and where to watch
The US Open returns to Sky Sports on Monday August 28 with the promise to give fans live coverage of the Grand Slam like never before.
Sky welcomes tennis back to its channels this year with the US Open being one of the most prestigious Grand Slam tournaments, adding to the existing sports portfolio and reaffirming the broadcaster as the home of live sport in the UK & Ireland.
Sky Sports' new mixed reality studio features multiple custom built LED screens, integrated light 'sabres', and an open canopy roof, making the space alive with colour and energy to reflect the vibrancy of the last Grand Slam of the year.
With integrated AR capabilities, a versatile LED floor, and a 'fourth wall', the viewer will be transported to the Arthur Ashe Stadium in a 360-degree immersive environment. Our tennis experts will take the viewer into the eyes of the players for expert Hawkeye analysis and insight as the tournament progresses.
The technology involved allows us to add an entire new dimension and will bring customers closer to the action.
Highlights of matches will be available across Sky Sports TV and our social media platforms.
Video highlights will also be available of the Sky Sports website and app, where there will also be a daily live text commentary on the Sky Sports website and app, as well as live scores, reports, analysis and features. We ask the key questions ahead of this year's tournament at Flushing Meadows...
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