Carlos Alcaraz ruined Oliver Tarvet’s Wimbledon sojourn as the title holder entered the third round with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory over the British qualifier on Wednesday following Aryna Sabalenka halted the tide of shock upsets.
Top Seeds Survive Shaky Start at Wimbledon
A record number of seeds fell at the All England Club in the first round, but women’s world number one Sabalenka and Alcaraz escaped seismic shocks on Centre Court. Second-seeded Alcaraz took two hours and 17 minutes to see off world number 733 Tarvet, who showed glimpses of his rising talent to thrill the partisan audience.
“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.”
A Winning Streak and Wimbledon Ambitions
Alcaraz has won his previous 20 matches after losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April, a searing run that has seen him win 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.
Having vanquished Novak Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals, Alcaraz is looking to join an elite group of Wimbledon icons.
The second-ranked player in the world is dreaming of becoming the fifth Open Era player to achieve three or more consecutive Wimbledon titles after Djokovic, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras.
Tarvet’s Dreams on Hold Amid NCAA Restrictions
Compared to the celebrity status and riches of Alcaraz, the relatively unknown Tarvet is just beginning his professional tennis career and can’t even take home all of his Wimbledon winnings.
Being a student of the University of San Diego, the 21-year-old has to remain an amateur and will also have to forfeit most of his earnings.
Though Alcaraz is a five-time Grand Slam title winner, Tarvet was competing in only his second major main draw match following three qualifiers and a first-round victory over Leandro Riedi.
Sabalenka Powers Through to Round Three
Sabalenka had begun the action on Centre Court on Wednesday, out-grinding 48th-ranked Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in a powerful-hitting match.
The Belarusian, who has endured agony in the finals of the Australian Open and French Open this season, battered a fine 41 winners in the one-hour-and-35-minute match.
It meant she escaped the fate of a number of other top players such as second seed Coco Gauff, third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen, who were eliminated in the first round.
Top Players Tumble in Historic Wimbledon Opener
“Honestly it’s very sad to see so many top players losing in the first round but you better focus on yourself and stay away from the results,” said the three-time Grand Slam winner in her on-court interview.
“I hope it’s no upsets anymore in this tournament, if you know what I mean!”
Keys, Norrie, and More Shake Up the Draw
Joining Sabalenka in the third round was sixth seed and Australian Open winner Madison Keys, who dispatched Serbia’s Olga Danilovic, 6-4, 6-2.
In the first two days alone, eight of the top 10 seeded players from the men’s and women’s singles draws were knocked out, an Open era Grand Slam record.
13 seeded players lost on the men’s side in the first round, a record in the tournament previously held by 11, and equalling the record of the most at a Grand Slam held by the 2004 Australian Open.
Third seeded Alexander Zverev was the top man to go down, losing on Tuesday to France’s Arthur Rinderknech.
Raducanu Set to Close the Day
Italian seventh seed Lorenzo Musetti also fell to Nikoloz Basilashvili, while Rune and Daniil Medvedev, both seeded in the top 10, lost on Monday.
American 12th seed Frances Tiafoe was the newest top player to fall to a shock loss, defeated by British world No 61 Cameron Norrie 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 in the second round.
Later Wednesday, past US Open champion Emma Raducanu plays 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova on Centre Court.
