Oliver Tarvet handed long route again at Wimbledon – with prize money this time
Oliver Tarvet’s last memory of Wimbledon is taking on Carlos Alcaraz on Centre Court, but he is more than happy to do things the hard way again.
The Briton’s run through qualifying to the second round as a 21-year-old ranked 733 was one of the stories of the tournament 12 months ago – not least because, as a university student in the United States, he was not allowed to keep his £99,000 prize money.
Having graduated from the University of San Diego last month following a stellar college career on court, Tarvet will have no such problems with whatever earnings he collects this time around.
And that will be at least £20,000 – the remuneration for players losing in the first round of qualifying, for that is the path he must take again, having been overlooked for a main draw wild card.
Had this not been such a competitive year, Tarvet might well have been given a shot in the men’s singles, but he has no complaints.
“I feel like it’s not something you can expect to get, any wild cards into a grand slam,” he told the Press Association. “I’m more than delighted with any opportunity.”
Tarvet’s run last summer began in the low key surroundings of the Community Sports Centre at Roehampton, where Wimbledon’s qualifying competition is held, and ended with a prime-time date on Centre Court against two-time champion Alcaraz.
Tarvet, from St Albans, lost in straight sets but embraced the occasion, pushing his illustrious rival and earning praise from Alcaraz for the entertaining nature of his performance.
He credits a determination not to be too prepared for what followed, saying: “I feel like I was so ignorant.
“I remember, I got a tour of Centre Court on the Tuesday and I went out there, had a little peek, and I was like, ‘OK, the more I take this in, the more I’m going to start overthinking things’.
“So I tried to be as naive as possible going into that match. There were a lot of emotions, but I didn’t want to show even more than what was already going on.
“It definitely was a surreal experience, but I feel like I did a pretty good job of not letting the moment get too big and still producing some good tennis out there.”
Tarvet could have taken the money and foregone the final year of his studies, but returning to the college circuit has given him space to move on from his big moment and prepare fully for the professional game.
Now he feels ready to see where the next stage of his tennis journey takes him, while knowing he will always have Alcaraz and Centre Court.
“At the start it was quite a lot to digest, but the more time that passes and the more time I’ve had to really think it through, it definitely has given me confidence, not only playing Alcaraz but the four matches before that, that I do belong pretty much at the top level of the ATP Tour,” he said.
“If I start to doubt things or overthink things, it does give me a lot of reassurance knowing that, if I train well, if I’m in the right head space and my body’s good, I feel like I can perform and be competitive with guys whose ranking is much higher than mine, especially on the grass.
“I definitely do look back at it, but a big lesson for me after Alcaraz was not expecting anything just because I had a good week-and-a-half. You have to get your head down and not take anything for granted.”
