Tennis-Britain's Wimbledon hopefuls Raducanu and Tarvet face tough task
LONDON (Reuters) -The home crowd will have plenty to cheer on Centre Court in the second round at Wimbledon on Wednesday as British qualifier Oliver Tarvet takes on twice defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu meets former winner Marketa Vondrousova.
Britain's Katie Boulter and Cameron Norrie will also be in action, while world number one Aryna Sabalenka continues her bid to win a first Wimbledon title when she takes on Marie Bouzkova.
TOP MEN'S MATCH: OLIVER TARVET V CARLOS ALCARAZ
Alcaraz began his title defence with a much tougher battle than expected, taken to five sets by Italian veteran Fabio Fognini in a marathon first round test in the intense opening day heat.
The Spaniard faces a completely different challenge next, coming up against a British amateur making his Grand Slam debut and ranked 733 in the world, but Alcaraz won't be taking Tarvet lightly.
"I just heard his name when he got qualified to the main draw," Alcaraz said after his first-round win.
"I've seen him play, and he has a good level. Even though he's not playing professionally or he has played just his first tour level match, it doesn't matter."
Tarvet will walk out on Centre Court to face his biggest challenge yet, but the 21-year-old appears unfazed by the task ahead.
"At the end of the day, for me, I try and play the ball, not the player," Tarvet told reporters.
"Just try and not let the moment get too big. Just go out there and play my brand of tennis."
TOP WOMEN'S MATCH: EMMA RADUCANU V MARKETA VONDROUSOVA
Raducanu has beaten Vondrousova at Wimbledon before, back in 2021 when the Briton burst onto the world stage and went on to win the U.S. Open that year, while the Czech triumphed at Wimbledon in 2023.
"I remember I played really good tennis. I remember I played one of the best matches I've played," Raducanu told reporters, recalling that 2021 win.
"I remember that was a big change, a big turning point for me."
Since her Wimbledon triumph, Vondrousova has struggled with a shoulder injury, but in the lead-up to this year's tournament she won the grasscourt title in Berlin and beat Raducanu when they met in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.
"Amazing grasscourt player, in general," Raducanu said.
"I think it's going to be a really difficult match. I'm going to need to play very well to get over the line."
SOLID SABALENKA
Sabalenka, who holds a 2-1 head-to-head advantage over Bouzkova, is top seed at Wimbledon for the first time, but the 27-year-old world number one feels she has the know-how to be able to deal with the pressure.
"I think maybe if I would be, like, 20 years old and world number one, it would be really difficult for me to handle that pressure," Sabalenka told reporters after her first-round win.
"I think I'm a quite experienced player and I'm not focusing on that. I'm trying to focus on myself, get better in my game, on and off the court."
WIMBLEDON ORDER OF PLAY ON WEDNESDAY (prefix number denotes seeding)
CENTRE COURT (play begins at 1230 GMT)
1-Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) v Marie Bouzkova (Czech Republic)
Oliver Tarvet (Britain) v 2-Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
Emma Raducanu (Britain) v Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic)
COURT NUMBER ONE (play begins at 1200 GMT)
Cameron Norrie (Britain) v 12-Frances Tiafoe (France)
Katie Boulter (Britain) v Solana Sierra (Argentina)
5-Taylor Fritz (U.S.) v Gabriel Diallo (Canada)
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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