Qualifier Oliver Tarvet continued his dream Wimbledon debut with a first-round victory – and he could face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz next.
The 21-year-old San Diego University student is ranked down at 733 but he took full advantage of a wild card into qualifying by winning three matches to earn his place at the All England Club.
And he looked right at home on the lawns of SW19, producing an assured performance to claim a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win over fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi from Switzerland.
The win is very likely to mean a crack at Alcaraz in the second round – but most of his prize money, which is now a guaranteed £99,000, is set to go unclaimed.
Tarvet is planning to go back to university in the United States for his final year, and the rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which runs college sports, requires players to stay amateur.
Tarvet can claim 10,000 US dollars (approximately £7,300) as well as the expenses he has incurred during the tournament – he joked he would fly his coach over first class to try to ensure he would not have to forfeit too much of the money.
There was no mistaking the joy Tarvet felt at his achievement, though. The St Albans player punched the air with a wide smile plastered on his face after serving out the victory.
Speaking on the BBC, Tarvet said: “There’s a lot of emotions, just really overjoyed. All the hard work I put in the last few years has clearly paid off.
“It’s my first tour-level event, to come out here, come through qualifying, win a first-round match, have a chance to play maybe Carlos on Wednesday, it’s just a dream come true.”
On the prize money issue, he said: “I’ve got to find more and more on expenses by the day. We’ll see. I’m not here for the money, I’m here for the crowd and the experience and just to stamp my mark. I think I’ve done a pretty good job so far.”
