Pat McEnroe joins! Will American US Open DROUGHT end?!

The U.S. Open never lacks drama, but this year Flushing Meadows has delivered just about everything. Upsets, American breakthroughs, marathon matchups stretching into deep in the New York night, and plenty of conversation about what's happening both on and off the court. Joining me right now to discuss it all, my friend, ESPN superstar, Sirius XM superstar, the great Patrick McEnroe. Pat, how are you? Coveted, that highly sought after time slot on Saturday mornings from 7 to 8 a.m. Eastern time. I mean, you know that superstar stat. I don't need to tell you that, Mr. Shine, but thank you for having me. Listen, I always love chopping it up with you, and I always love watching you. And honestly, you know what I think about the U.S. Open or what I think of just incredible tennis. And I need to talk to you about Ben Shum. What impressed you the most about his epic five set win over Coach Alcaraz in the quarters? Well, you know, someone someone else said to me in another interview I did today, Adam, that that he was he competed well, that I'd never seen him compete that well. And I said, no, hold on a second. He's always been a great competitor. But what he did and what he's done, Adam, in the last year or so is he's improved his tennis game. He's improved his all around skill set. He's going up against this guy Alcaraz. Who's a human highlight reel. OK, this guy's the most electric player I've ever seen on a tennis court. And I've seen quite a few other electric players. And, you know, you know them well by name. So what Ben Shelton has done is he's improved his versatility. You know, he's got the monster serve. He can serve at one, you know, high 140s. But he's like a pitcher that's got the unbelievable fastball. And now he's got a nasty curve and he's got a change up and he's got a splitter. And most importantly, Adam, he's improved his return to serve. So he's getting more balls in play. He's staying in points better by using the backhand slice. He's become more of an all court player and all around player. That's why he was able to stay with Alcaraz, who albeit I'll say it wasn't at his best because it was very impressive to me that Alcaraz even got to the U.S. Open, having not played for almost five months and played as well as he did. But I said at the beginning of the tournament that I thought that he would have a match where he struggled, where he wasn't at his best. And that's what happened. And Ben Shelton was able to take advantage of it, still going the distance, going five sets. I was really impressed after he lost that first set in a tie break that, you know, that he could have just had a letdown. But he hung in there. He knew he's going to have to stay and play a long, tough, grueling match. And that's exactly what he did to get the W. But it's not done, Adam. You know, I picked him to win the tournament before it started, okay, because of the things I just discussed with you. But now he's got Francis Tiafoe, who I love. He lights up the stadium. I love his smile. I love his attitude. He's back into the semifinals at the Open for the third time. So, you know, he's got a shot, Tiafoe, to win that match. But I'm leaning towards Shelton in that one. And Sasha Zverev is going to be the favorite, no matter who he plays in the championship match, assuming he beats Hatchinoff in the first semifinal, which I believe he will. But Ben Shelton loves that stage. He loves the big stage. And I think he's ready for his big moment. I want to get your thoughts on what everyone was buzzing about the other day in terms of when the match ended. And let me give you my take. And I know you were listening to my show on Mad Dog Sports Radio. Look, I thought it was part of the lore of it, right? You know, we see this in the NCAA tournaments. We see this in the NBA in the postseason. It also wasn't, in my opinion, ESPN's fault or the USTA's fault or the US Open's fault. The Tiafoe match was epic. And once that happened, you knew everything was going to get pushed back. So it was just under the umbrella of it was what it was. And it's one of those where if it ends at 3.30 in the morning, it makes an epic sporting event that much better. What's your take on all that? I 100% agree with you. And I'll give you another little tidbit for you to nibble on, okay? Tennis is never going to be a hugely rated sport on television in the United States. It's just not. Even the years when I was with ESPN, I've been with ESPN for 30 years, when I covered the US Open for CBS, you know, when it was Sampras-Agassi, when it was Federer against Djokovic, Nadal-Federer, you know, those big-time matchups. I mean, it rates pretty well, but you're talking about the highest-rated tennis match in the last 20 years is like the worst NFL game on Sunday, like the game that you don't want to watch on Sunday. That rates higher than the greatest tennis rating ever. So my point is this. Tennis makes its money and makes its buzz on ticket sales, sponsorship, yes, hospitality more and more, you know, corporations getting involved in sponsoring the tournament. And what you just said is true. The lore of like, the average talk show, I don't consider you the average because you like tennis, right? But most guys in your business don't talk tennis or nothing about it. And they're only talking about tennis because of that. If that match had been in primetime, oh yeah, more people would have seen it, but not that much more than it would really move the needle for tennis in the way that I think this did. So I agree, the word you use, lore, is part of what makes tennis interesting to the casual fan. And the fact that people are up there, you know, I saw this morning on my social media, you know, a video of people waiting for the subway, the 7 train at 4.15am to get back to the city. And so I think that that makes it all the more interesting. And I think it raises awareness for the sport beyond if that match had been played in primetime, like now people are more talking about it. And by the way, Tiafoe and Shelton will be played in primetime tomorrow night on ESPN. And that's going to do a pretty darn good number, but a pretty darn good number for tennis. I think you nailed it. And to me, it just added to the whole thing. And the way Tiafoe won, I mean, that that comeback and, you know, everything about it and the volleys and the rallies and the end was just incredible. And honestly, Patrick, you know, Shelton, Tiafoe, semis tomorrow night, you've mentioned it a couple times. I am so into this. Like, I think this is going to be just a sensational sporting event. Who you got and why? Well, I started the first match. I got Zverev winning that, you know, he's locked in now. I mean, he, you know, he won the French, finally got the monkey off his back, played great at Wimbledon. He never done well at Wimbledon. He got to the final there. So I love his chances. Hats it off as a power player, hits the ball big, but I think Zverev's just got too much versatility. But I think it'll be closer than people think, probably a four seven. Shelton, Tiafoe, let's set this up. They know each other well. They're good buddies, but they're competitors. They're rivals. Because Shelton's like the new kid on the block. This is for the American guy. You know, you have Tiafoe, you have Taylor Fritz, you have Tommy Paul. And I've been around those guys a lot. I knew them when they were kids. I've been around them on at Labor Cup when the same, they're on the same team together. There's a healthy competition, Adam, between these two. Very healthy. Like they're going to go at it. They respect each other. But they want to be the big guy on the block, big time. They both want to be the guy, the guy that can finally break through and win a major. I believe Shelton's got a little bit more, he's got a lot more firepower, that's for sure, in his game. But he's added a little more variety to his game. He's added the ability, you know, to play the slice. He's added the ability to play a lot more defense. Tiafoe's a little bit more straightforward. And he got the memo last year around this time, did Tiafoe. You better buckle up, as you like to say, buckle up, Buttercup, on your fitness and on your commitment to being the best you can be. He got rid of his whole team. He brought in a new team. He's had some brutal losses this year. Had a huge lead at the French Open that he let slip away when he had a monster opportunity to get to the semis on the clay at Roland Garros. But he's bounced back every time. And I love what I'm seeing from him, coming from two sets down, he's putting it all out there. And so I think he will have plenty in the tank to win this match. But I think Shelton's just got TMG, Adam, too much game. I think Shelton wins it in four. Listen, I think it'd be incredible. And by the way, we had Aaron Rodgers on our SiriusXM radio show, and he picked Shelton to win the entire thing at the U.S. Open. So I was like, all right, that's pretty good. Rodgers, he's very into tennis, into the U.S. Open. I know he's your guy. He's my guy. He's my guy. All right, Sabalenka. Now, obviously, the favorites, and she's destroying everyone. You know, we have Pagoula, we have Coco, American certainly could eventually emerge. Who are we picking on the women's side and why? Well, let me just slightly correct you and tell you that Sabalenka was down a break in the third in the last match against Linda Noskova, who won Wimbledon. It was an amazing match, super high level. So she hasn't just totally been steamrolling, which she's done in the past. Now, she's won the last two U.S. Open. She's going for the three-peat, okay, which the last player to do that was Serena on the women's side, Federer on the men's side, the last guy who won five in a row. But Sabalenka's playing well. She's not my pick just for some reason, and I'll get to that in a second. But I think she will beat Pagoula. My heart would love to see, you know, the Buffalo Bills gal, Bills Nation, because I'm picking the Bills to go all the way. Same. Yeah, over the Rams in the Super Bowl. Same. Yeah, but it's 9-4 head-to-head. Sabalenka leads. Pagoula's beaten her a few times. And why do I like Pagoula? Because she's no nonsense, you know. She comes from huge wealth, and what has she done? It took her until her mid-20s just to start getting into majors, to be a top player, and now she's rock-solid. She's got the most wins of anyone on tour. She kind of deserves to win a major, but, you know, deserves and winning are two different things. I got Sabalenka winning this one in a tight three-setter, but I'd love to see Jessica get through and get to the final one more time, which she did two years ago, losing to Sabalenka. On the other side, you've got Coco Goff, who's just been finding ways to win, and particularly the last match, as I called it yesterday against Navarro, I mean, against Andreeva. She did not look good in the first set. I mean, she was so tight, Adam. She couldn't swing the racket. I mean, the first set was a disaster, but here's what Coco does as well as anyone. She competes her ass off. She's an unbelievable competitor, even when, you know, she can't find the broad side of a barn with her serve and her forehand. She battles. She's a battler, and she loves the crowd. The crowd loves her. I think she's going to win this. I think she's going to win the whole thing, but I'll tell you this right now. If Robacca comes out and plays her A-game, she could steamroll Coco because she's the best ball striker in women's tennis. She has never played her best at the U.S. Open. She's played great in Australia. She won the Australian this year, but you see Coco, you know, go into the year. She's going to need the crowd, and she's going to need a much better start, so she better bring it early because Robacca has got the type of game that could blow her away. You know, she could win a 2-and-2 if she's hot and if Coco plays the way she did in the previous round, but I think Coco finds a way and gets back to the winner's circle, and can you believe it, Adam? I'm predicting right here on the Adam Schein Show that there will be two Americans, two Americans winning the U.S. Open this weekend, and oh man, you know, I'd love to see Coco do it again, but I am so sick and tired, Adam, of the question, when's an American man going to win a major? It's been since 2003. Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open. Please, please let me not hear that question. There's two questions I get. You know, Adam, all the time. What's it like being John's brother, number one? Well, I ain't going to get rid of that because that's going to happen for the rest of my life. I'm cool. I've come to peace with that. I'm good with that, but this one, please, Ben Shelton, even if Francis would win it, I'd be super pumped, but I think Ben Shelton's the guy to get it done, but let me tell you one more thing. If it's Zverev in the final against either one of the two Americans, Zverev's going to be the final. He's going to be the favorite in the match by the odds makers. So let me follow on that, seriously, so we can avoid that question. We know you're John's brother, but just so we can avoid, let's say Shelton wins. What would that do for, A, tennis, B, United States tennis? Well, it'd be massive for more for U.S. tennis than for tennis because for tennis globally, it's never been more popular. Majors are huge. Europeans essentially dominate. It's definitely men's tennis at the highest level. Just look at who's won majors in the last 25 years. Juan Martin Del Potro from Argentina, the last guy, non-European to win a major. So tennis will be fine, but look, even the other majors, you have a bankable American star, and what does that mean, bankable American star? It means you've got to win a major. I mean, that's just the bottom line. That's just how it is in tennis. So it would make a massive difference, but in the United States, Adam, it would be absolutely huge for all of us, for me and my brother, run our tennis academy, the Johnny Mack Tennis Academy in New York, for the buzz of the kids to say, you know what, we can actually get it done, we meaning as a country, because we've been passed by. We were passed by by the European countries in the last 25 years at the highest levels of pro tennis. We still have, we've had a lot of really, really good players, but we need someone that's a phenomenal athlete playing the game of tennis, right? That's what it takes. And Ben Shelton is that guy. He was a great quarterback as a kid. You know, finally at 12, 13, he said, okay, we've got to pick a sport. He went to tennis. So we've preached that at our tennis academy. We want to see kids doing other sports. We want to get great athletes playing tennis, because that's the only way now, Adam, that you can hold up one of those trophies at the four majors, you got to be a great tennis player, that's obvious. But you also now have to be a phenomenal athlete, the speed of the game, the athleticism of the game. I mean, Carlos Alcaraz, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, these guys are like, they're not just great tennis players, they're elite athletes. And that's what we need. And that would raise the bar for all of us to serve in the tennis business to get attract more kids that are phenomenal athletes playing our game. Well, with that said, last one for you, and I want to get your take on this, because, you know, in some circles, it's a quote unquote, controversy in terms of influencers and camera lights and fans making noise and different smells of smoke during the US Open. Now, I think anything that increases buzz and attention for tennis, especially in New York for the US Open, I can allow it, right? Maybe different for Wimbledon, but US Open, it's New York, I think it's all part of the deal. I also think if it attracts a younger audience, a more casual audience, I think that's great, because maybe you'll fall in love with the game or certain players or whatever it is. What's your take on all that? So you don't have anything against a little buzz? Is that what you're saying? Those smells going on at the Arthur S. Davis? I'm with you. I'm with you on all fronts, Adam. I find it absolutely hilarious, okay? I've been going to the US Open since I was a little kid, okay? Since it was played at Westside Tennis Club at Forest Hills, and all we've ever wanted in tennis is to be like big time, you know, like a big time sport, like football, like basketball, like baseball. You know, I grew up going to all those games. I grew up going and getting on the train, going to the Knicks game and the Rangers game. We grew up like, hey, we want tennis to be cool. We want tennis to be happening. And now, guess what's happening at this year's US Open, Adam? Just like you said, that's what's happening. It's got a lot of buzz. It's got influencers, whatever you want to call them. I think it's fantastic, and I think it's an absolute joke that people are complaining about it, that tennis is now bigger beyond us tennis geeks and even you and even our buddy, the Christopher Mad Dog Russo, you're like the two only big time radio guys that actually talk tennis and get it, understand it. So I'm super happy talking to these imbeciles who have no idea about tennis because now it's got some buzz. So I say, you know, we could go after the USTA who runs the US Open for a bunch of stuff, but I'm not going after them for this because they've made tennis more and more relevant. They've made the event bigger and better, and for the tennis geeks like me, I'm like blown away, man, watching these people get into tennis because I'm like, what took you so long? I love it. You can have Patrick McEnroe giving you more hot opinions on holding court with Patrick McEnroe every Saturday morning, 7 a.m. Eastern, Sirius XM, Mad Dog Sports Radio, Channel 82. Patrick, thanks for joining us and enjoy the rest of the Open. Adam, you are the best, man. You're a legend in what you do, and I appreciate you having me.