Carlos Alcaraz has praised Coco Gauff for one aspect of her game after he was tasked with choosing his perfect Wimbledon player.
The Spaniard was given a number of players selected at random and asked to combine their skills to create a perfect player.
Alcaraz was knocked out of Queen’s by Great Britain star Jack Draper this week in a blow to his pre-Wimbledon preparations.
The 21-year-old became the youngster man to win a Grand Slam title on all three surfaces when he won the French Open earlier this month.
Now, he has the defence of his Wimbledon title in his sights and defeat to Draper means it’s back to the drawing board a little bit.
In good spirits, he was quizzed on the perfect Wimbledon player and he chose Gauff in one spot as he created his ideal SW19 performer.
Carlos Alcaraz picks Coco Gauff trait when choosing perfect Wimbledon player
This was interesting and listening to him make his selections it sounds as though it proved a tough thing for him to do.
Alcaraz was given a number of star players from the male and female game at random and then he had to pick them in a number of categories.
He had to choose the player with the best forehand, backhand, serve, speed, mentality and touch.
When it came to Gauff, Alcaraz chose to put the American player in the mentality spot, praising her temperament at Wimbledon.
Gauff will won plenty of Grand Slam titles but Wimbledon has been a struggle
Given that Alcaraz was running out of spaces when Gauff was drawn at random, perhaps this one was a bit wide of the mark.
Although Gauff is a supremely talented player – and one who will undoubtedly win multiple slams during her career – Wimbledon has proved hard work.
The 20-year-old has never been beyond the fourth round at SW19 and she’s failed to build on dumping Venus Williams out during her maiden year.
On that occasion, she was a qualifier and eventually lost to Simona Halep in the fourth round.
Gauff has won a slam though, claiming the US Open crown last year and that should give her immense confidence.
Despite her tender years, she has seven career titles to her name and the challenge for her now is to stay grounded, stay fit and start winning titles on a more frequent basis.
Winning Wimbledon this year won’t be easy but with Alcaraz praising her mentality, perhaps she can be one to watch in the UK this summer.
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