Summary US tennis legend John McEnroe Monday singled out Sloane Stephens as a future women's star.
HONG KONG (AFP) - US tennis legend John McEnroe Monday singled out Sloane Stephens as a future women s star for his country but admitted it is still looking to break its "dry spell" as far as the men s game goes.
The 54-year-old won his first major in 1979 before he and countryman Jimmy Connors combined for nine Slams in the eighties, with Brian Teach and Michael Chang chipping in with one each.
Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Jim Courier meanwhile led the US to a decade of dominance in the 1990s with a combined 19 Slams between them, but the retirement last year of 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick has left a vacuum.
"I think hopefully it s cyclical. We ve had a pretty dry spell in the men. In the women we ve had the Williams sisters and Sloane Stephens... she ll be in the top ten for sure. I think she s pretty close already," said McEnroe.
Stephens, currently ranked 17th, rose to prominence after beating her idol Serena Williams in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
She is among a raft of youngsters including fellow American Madison Keys who have been tipped as future stars.
Serena Williams meanwhile last month became the oldest woman at 31 to be ranked number one. But the top-ranked American man, 27-year-old John Isner, is currently well behind the leaders at number 15.
McEnroe said tennis would have to evolve into a more accessible sport and shed its image of an elite pastime to widen the net for future champions.
