Bonjour tennis fans! Today is May 23 and we all are now set to discover who faces whom in the first round of the 2024 French Open. There are lots of permutations and combinations to watch out for. The mega clay court event will be held from 26 May to 9 June at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris. This year the tournament is going to be one of the most unpredictable Grand Slams in recent times. With the ‘King of Clay,‘ and the ‘Serbinator’ struggling with their form, fans can may well see a new winner this time around. Are we finally going to see an American lifting a major title after almost more than two decades?

Well, the picture looks quite glim at the moment for all the American tennis fans. If we take a look at the draw for a moment, Ben Shelton will take on Hugo Gaston in his first-round match. Both of them are promising stars in the tennis world and they haven’t faced each other earlier on the Tour. So this is what makes this contest more interesting. Interestingly, if we look at Gaston’s record in the past, he had earlier given a tough fight to the two-time French Open finalist Dominic Thiem at the 2020 French Open. Thiem took five sets to defeat the Frenchman in that match. So, surely this is going to be a big test for ‘Big Ben’!

While another American tennis star, Tommy Paul might face Novak Djokovic in the R16. Although Djokovic isn’t in great form this year, one can never rule out the world number one in any tournament. In fact, Novak Djokovic had previously defeated Tommy Paul at the SF of the 2023 AO by a three-set thriller. So, there is a high possibility of both of them facing each other yet again at a major stage. While Sebastian Korda might face Carlos Alcaraz at the R32 of the French Open. They had met each other at the same venue and at the same stage in 2022.

At that time the Spaniard took three sets to topple the American. So, things are looking quite gloomy for the American tennis stars at the moment. Andre Agassi was the last American men’s tennis player to win the French Open. He did it in 1999 by defeating Ukraine’s Andrei Medvedev by 1-6,2-6,6-4,6-3,6-4 in the finals. Who’ll be the next?

“He might win the French Open” – Former WTA star makes a prediction for Ben Shelton

Ben Shelton won his first-ever clay court title this year at the ATP 250 event in Houston. He was also heard saying, “Americans haven’t had the best success in the clay-court season or at Roland Garros, but it’d be really cool to change that narrative.” He believes playing on clay courts is more fun because the pace of the game slows down significantly and one can have more time to play his shots. Is he now the real dark horse for the French Open title?

Well, the American former pro tennis star, Alexandra Stevenson strongly believes even if Ben Shelton doesn’t win the French Open this year, he could may well achieve that feat in the upcoming years. She said, “Ben Shelton building this now, at 21, is really smart because by 28 he might win the French Open. You never know. I don’t expect him to win on clay a lot now. But, he realizes that he needs to build this. So every season… is gonna make a difference.”

Is Ben Shelton the real contender from the US to become the next Grand Slam winner in the men’s division? Share what are your thoughts on this.