Carlos Alcaraz is into the second round at Wimbledon, but certainly took the hard route to reach such a stage.
When drawn against the retiring Fabio Fognini, there was a quiet acknowledgement of the significance of this match.
It would allow the Italian, in what would likely be his last-ever match at the All-England Club, to play on centre court against the two-time defending champion.
However, as yesterday’s match began, it quickly became clear that he was not there just to make up the numbers, and took Carlos Alcaraz the distance. Only in the fifth set did some parity finally appear between them.
Far from convincing from the world number two, Oliver Tarvet will watch that back and feel buoyed about his chances of dragging out his upcoming clash with the 22-year-old now.
Carlos Alcaraz reacts to watching footage of Oliver Tarvet
However, it is not the Brit who has admitted to watching footage of Alcaraz, but instead the other way around, as he admitted in his post-match press conference.
Asked about the world number 719, who forced his way into the main draw through qualifying, the six-time Grand Slam champion admitted: ‘First of all I just heard his name when he got qualified to the main draw. Just 700 in the world and he’s playing the main draw of Wimbledon and he has won his first, I think, tour-level match.
‘So, I think it’s impressive and if he’s there it’s because he deserves, he deserves to be there.
‘So, I’ve watched a little bit before my match because he was playing before mine, so, I saw great tennis on grass, to be honest. I have to be ready.
‘I will try to improve the things that didn’t work today and hopefully be better.
‘As I say, if he’s in the second round, (it’s) because he deserves it so I will try to show my best tennis.’
Tarvet has risen over 300 places in the world rankings with his win.
How did Oliver Tarvet reach the Wimbledon second round?
A question that many might be wondering is how somebody so lowly ranked can reach such a stage at an event like Wimbledon.
But that’s just the kind of magic that these events throw up, allowing for fairytale stories to be the making of some players’ careers.
He weathered plenty of storms to emerge through qualifying, and was treated by being drawn against Leandro Riedi in the first round.
A lesser-known star, but still dangerous, Tarvet put in a near-faultless display, consisting of some lethal serving and relentless groundstrokes.
He finished the match with a superb 90% win percentage on his first serve and did not face a single break point as he cruised to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win.
Alcaraz will surely pose a much tougher threat, but Tarvet has admitted that he’s ‘quietly confident’ he can beat anyone.
