From Eminem to Lil Wayne: Ben Shelton, Denis Shapovalov, Reilly Opelka & others name their ideal Super Bowl halftime headliners

Several top tennis players were asked who their ideal pick would be to perform at the NFL Super Bowl Halftime Show and it produced some interesting answers. Who did the likes of Ben Shelton, Denis Shapovalov and Reilly Opelka pick? Let’s find out.

Ben Shelton, who made a stirring run at the Australian Open before losing in the semifinal, picked American rapper Lil Wayne.

“My half-time performer…personally I would choose Lil Wayne,” said Shelton.

Shelton, 21, made an early exit at the ongoing Dallas Open, losing in the second round to Spain’s Jaume Munar.

Meanwhile, Reilly Opelka, who had stunned Novak Djokovic at the Brisbane International last month, took the old-school approach and chose one of the greatest songwriters of all time.

"So I'd definitely go with Bob Dylan," Opelka said.

Tommy Paul, who reached the semifinals of the Dallas Open, also chose Lil Wayne. Taylor Fritz, on the other hand, was very specific in his choice as the World No. 4 decided to pick the crowd favorites:

“I’m trying to think what everyone will like…let’s go (with) Justin Beiber and Kid Laroi,” he said.

Denis Shapovalov, who defeated Casper Ruud 7-6 (5), 6-3 to win the Dallas Open title, sought a re-union of tap geniuses Eminem and G-Eazy.

“I would have G-Eazy perform and maybe bring Eminem back,” he said.

Norwegian tennis star Ruud chose a safe option, an artist who has previously headlined the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

“I would go with The Weeknd. He has already performed and I loved the show, so I would not mind seeing him again,” he said.

Ultimately, it was American rapper Kendrick Lamar, who headlined the Super Bowl Halftime Show. He was introduced by actor Samuel L. Jackson and was also accompanied by popular singer, SZA. There was also a tennis connection in Lamar's performance as Serena Williams grooved to his tunes on stage and even did the Crip Walk.

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Coco Gauff reacts to Serena Williams' performance at the Super Bowl

Serena Williams performs at the Super Bowl Halftime Show .Source: Getty

Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion and among the greatest tennis players of all time, traded the tennis racquet for her dance moves at the Super Bowl Halftime show that surprised fans and tennis players alike.

She danced to Lamar's popular track "Not Like Us" and a video of her performance took the internet by storm as it gathered millions of views and thousands of comments in quick time.

Fellow American tennis star Coco Gauff was amazed by Williams' performance and referred to her as the GOAT. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Gauff wrote:

"Serena is the 🐐! icon doing iconic things."

Gauff said she was backing the Philadelphia Eagles in the final and ended up on the winning side, as the Eagles cruised to a 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs to clinch the NFL Super Bowl crown on Sunday.