John McEnroe names the American man he thinks has the best chance of winning a Grand Slam title

John McEnroe loves American tennis and has maintained that mindset even well into his retirement.

As a player, he never missed a Davis Cup match, referencing some of those triumphs among the best of his entire storied career.

Then, once he stopped playing, the 67-year-old took up the mantle of Davis Cup captain, resigning after just 14 months, as he failed to get regular commitments from the stars of the era like Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

Now a prominent and outspoken pundit, he continues to fly the flag proudly when given the opportunity.

Speaking as a Eurosport and TNT Sports pundit recently, John McEnroe has now named the American man he thinks is the closest to claiming a Grand Slam title.

John McEnroe previews the future of men's tennis in America

It has been 23 long years since we last saw a US man lift a major, although we came close just last month when Ben Shelton reached the US Open final.

Sadly, he failed to challenge Alexander Zverev, but it marked a huge breakthrough for the 23-year-old.

This likely prompted McEnroe's choice, as he noted: "People ask me all the time when we are going to get an American winning a Grand Slam and I put Ben (Shelton) at the top of the list.

"We wait to see what happens with players like (Jakub) Mensik or [Joao] Fonseca and whether these young kids can get over the hump and challenge Sinner and Alcaraz.

"Or will Sascha Zverev be dominant and win a few more Grand Slams over the next few years?

"Carlos and Jannik were a long way ahead of the rest for the last couple of years and injuries have stopped that this year, so it's an interesting question moving forward who will step up."

Then, discussing the wider topic of American tennis, he feared for participation, with other sports seemingly taking precedent and thus hoovering up the elite athletes.

McEnroe added: "It feels to me that tennis is more accessible in other countries, especially Europe.

"In our country, to be blunt, the accessibility is a big issue. The best athletes play American football, basketball, in some cases, soccer. You have the affordability issues and tennis is expensive."