It was the year 2024. Fresh off winning his maiden French Open title, Carlos Alcaraz was all set to defend his Wimbledon title. Moreover, history was on the table as he could achieve a unique feat of winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same Calendar Year, popularly termed the Channel Slam. Well, the Spaniard didn’t disappoint his fans as he defeated Novak Djokovic in the final to complete the historic milestone that very few have managed to achieve. Looks like the Spaniard has inspired fellow tennis sensation Coco Gauff, who is eyeing replicating Alcaraz’s feat and couldn’t stop praising him.

Earlier this month, Gauff won her maiden French Open title as she held her nerves to defeat Aryna Sabalenka in the summit clash. However, Gauff isn’t done yet and wants to lift the Wimbledon trophy as well, riding on her momentum from the victory in Paris. During an interview ahead of the championships, Gauff opened up about her desire to win the Channel Slam and taking inspiration from the likes of Alcaraz.

Coco Gauff revealed, “I understand why it hasn’t been done that often. Except, I guess, Carlos; he makes it look easy.” Further, she also went on to add, “Novak (Djokovic), too. I didn’t realize it was 10 years since Serena. I would love to do that. Also, I’m not going to put that much pressure on myself because I’ve been telling my team and people around me, this is all new territory for me. I’m trying to take it as I go. If I were to end up there, it would be great. If not, I’ll try to come up with a better way to prepare for this tournament next year.”

While Alcaraz managed to win the Channel Slam last year, Djokovic last won it back in 2021, and Serena won it twice in 2002 and 2015. Thus, it was no surprise that Gauff wanted to follow in the path of these icons and make it to the coveted list of players winning the Channel Slam. However, replicating this feat will be easier said than done for Gauff. Her struggles on grass are no secret and even the former World Number 1, Andy Roddick, issued a stern warning to Gauff ahead of Wimbledon.

Andy Roddick downplays Coco Gauff’s Wimbledon chances

Interestingly, Gauff is yet to win a title on grass. Even her best performance at Wimbledon has just been a fourth-round appearance. In the warm-up tournament prior to the Wimbledon Championships, Gauff lost in the second round against Wang Xinyu at the Berlin Open. Thus, Roddick felt that Gauff wouldn’t be able to go the distance at the upcoming major event.

During his Served podcast, Roddick mentioned, “I don’t think Coco makes it to the fourth round. It’s weird because we judge people against their own shadows. How much stock do you put in what she did, which was amazing, over the clay-court season? Everything about clay benefits her game; it slows it down, more time on the forehand side. Grass is going to be her most challenging surface. It just is.”

Further, he also added, “The playbook hasn’t changed because she won Roland Garros. She was able to manage the playbook against her with speed on that forehand side. Her legs are more of a weapon on the clay; she slides great. The spin profile on her forehand is better on clay. She hasn’t won here (Wimbledon) hardly at all. Her best result was when she was, like, 15? She has not played well on grass at all. The forehand does it no favors.”

To make matters worse, Coco Gauff has received a tough draw at Wimbledon. She could go up against Iga Swiatek as early as in the quarterfinals and could square off against her compatriot, Jessica Pegula, in the semifinals. Gauff will open her campaign against Dayana Yastremska on Tuesday. It’ll be interesting to see if she can prove Roddick wrong and win the Channel Slam.