Oliver Tarvet wins Centre Court acclaim in entertaining loss to Carlos Alcaraz

By Andy Sims, PA

British qualifier Oliver Tarvet gave Carlos Alcaraz a run for his money before bowing out of Wimbledon.

The 21-year-old will not see much of the £99,000 he has earned for reaching the second round as he is still a US college student playing under national association rules.

But Tarvet still enjoyed his Centre Court debut despite being unable to cash in on an inconsistent display from the defending champion, eventually losing an entertaining encounter 6-1 6-4 6-4.

“Big praise to Oliver,” said 22-year-old Alcaraz. “Only his second match on the tour and I just love his game. Some great tennis. I had to be really focused and play my best tennis.”

Tarvet, the world number 733 from St Albans used his speed, skill and inventiveness to twice break the Alcaraz serve, thrilling the home crowd who were officially ‘Oliver’s Army’ for the afternoon.

Alcaraz had never faced a British player in SW19, but he got a taste of that unique atmosphere when Tarvet got a first game on the board by winning a 27-shot rally with a drop-shot followed by a forehand volley.

The din was cranked up further at the start of the second set when Tarvet finally converted a break point at the ninth attempt and celebrated with a waggle of his index finger.

Alcaraz had struggled on serve in his first match, a five-set ordeal against soon-to-be-retired 38-year-old Fabio Fognini, and Tarvet was also making service games a chore for the second seed.

But when the driver is a little wayward off the tee, he still has plenty of other clubs in his bag to choose from and a stunning backhand smash put him on the way to moving two sets up.

There was still time for Tarvet to help himself to another break in the third, but it was quickly snuffed out with Alcaraz wrapping up victory in two-and-a-quarter hours.

He added: “Playing someone from here is not easy but once against the crowd were really respectful. In know it’s not personal.”