Great Britain’s Oliver Tarvet, ranked 733rd in the world, faced World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the second round at Wimbledon 2025, losing 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday while declaring it the most special day of his life despite having no immediate plans to turn professional.Tarvet, playing in only his second main draw Grand Slam match, put up a spirited performance against the five-time Grand Slam champion on Centre Court.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The 21-year-old US college student managed to challenge Alcaraz, who remains on course for his third consecutive Wimbledon title.“It’s not every day that you get to play against maybe the best player in the world. I did a pretty good job of kind of enjoying the moment and trying to also play some good tennis at the same time,” Tarvet said.
“I woke up a couple times in the night from the adrenaline. In the car, my heart rate was going quicker than it usually does. Obviously there were nerves. I kind of knew that the first set might be difficult because it’s not a stage that I’m used to. I still had break points in three games. I definitely had chances.”Tarvet had eight unconverted break points in the first set before successfully breaking early in the second set, celebrating with a finger waggle to the delighted crowd.Alcaraz immediately broke back, demonstrating the gap between their skill levels.“Credit to him, he plays the big points just incredibly well. That’s the difference. You kind of feel like you’re in the set, you lose it 6-1, it’s tough. But even though it was not the result that I wanted today, it was definitely the most special day of my life,” Tarvet said.How much prize money did Tarvet earn?
Oliver Tarvet returns the ball to Carlos Alcaraz in his second round men’s singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London. (AP)
Despite earning £99,000 (Rs 1.15 crore) for reaching the second round, Tarvet cannot collect much of it due to amateur rules as a US college student in San Diego. He joked he would travel on a private jet back to the US.“No, I mean, nothing has changed based on the last 10 days. I still want to go back to the University of San Diego. I have a lot of personal goals that I still haven’t achieved as a team at USD. As much as I have professional goals, college has been such a big part of my career, part of my life. There’s definitely some things that I want to achieve before I go full-time.”Reflecting on his tournament experience, Tarvet shared his insights.“Most about myself is just how powerful the mind is. I feel statistically or on paper, I wasn’t supposed to win some of the matches that I won, but I backed myself against those guys. I just realised there’s a lot of power in kind of having that confidence in yourself.”Alcaraz, currently on a 20-match winning streak after victories in Rome, French Open, and Queen’s Club, praised his opponent’s performance.“I told him just congratulations for the run, keep it going, keep working hard. It seems like he’s a really nice guy and a really nice, hard worker. It seems like he loves tennis. He played with such a good passion out there, that is really important. If he keeps practising hard and playing in a professional level, I think he can go far.”
