Ruthless Alcaraz ends Tarvet's Wimbledon fairytale
The world number two had battled to a five-set win over 38-year-old Italian Fabio Fognini in a first-round clash lasting over four hours on Monday.
He once again looked below his best, taking two hours and 17 minutes to subdue world number 733 Tarvet, who produced flashes of his emerging talent to delight the partisan crowd.
"First of all I have to give big praise to Oliver. In his second match on the tour, I just loved his game to be honest," Alcaraz said.
"I knew I had to play my best tennis. I was really happy with my performance but big praise to him as well."
Alcaraz has won his past 20 matches since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April, a blistering streak that has brought him titles at the Rome Masters, the French Open and Queen's Club.
The 22-year-old Spaniard, who fought back from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner on clay in an epic final at Roland Garros last month, has won 31 of his 34 Tour-level matches on grass.
His last defeat at Wimbledon came against Sinner in the fourth round in 2022.
"I found the right way. I try to enjoy every match. It doesn't matter if I'm winning or losing. That is the key," Alcaraz said.
"The last few months have been a great winning streak. I just try to keep it going.
"I'm trying to make the most of my time in Wimbledon. Let's see how far I can go."
Standing ovation
Having vanquished Novak Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals, Alcaraz is looking to join an elite group of Wimbledon icons.
He hopes to become the fifth man in the Open Era to win at least three consecutive Wimbledon titles after seven-time champion Djokovic, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras.
In stark contrast to Alcaraz's fame and fortune, the unheralded Tarvet is just starting his tennis career and cannot even collect all of his Wimbledon prize money.
As a student of the University of San Diego, the 21-year-old has to maintain amateur status and will have to give up most of his earnings.
While Alcaraz is a five-time Grand Slam champion Tarvet was playing just his second major main draw match after coming through three qualifiers and beating Leandro Riedi in the opening round.
More accustomed to playing in front of a few hundred spectators on the US college circuit, Tarvet defied the vast rankings gap to Alcaraz and had 15,000 Centre Court fans cheering his every move.
Alcaraz was always in control but he appreciated the underdog's tenacious performance.
He wrapped Tarvet in a warm hug after the last point and applauded him off the court as fans gave the plucky Briton a standing ovation.
© 2025 AFP
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