Carlos Alcaraz cruises past Oliver Tarvet at Wimbledon 2025
After being pushed to five sets in his opening match, two-time defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz enjoyed a more routine 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over British qualifier Oliver Tarvet on Wednesday to reach the third round at the All England Club.
Alcaraz, 22, became the third man in tennis history to win 20 or more matches at both the French Open and Wimbledon before his 23rd birthday. The others are Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal.
The No. 2 seed saluted the performance of his opponent, who had the home crowd’s support throughout — a rare change in atmosphere for the fan favorite Alcaraz.
“I just love his game to be honest, the level he can play — [and his] first match on Centre Court,” Alcaraz said in an on-court interview. “I knew at the beginning I had to be really focused to play my best tennis … just really happy about my performance today.”
Asked about his recent run of success — he’s on a 20-match winning streak that included defending his title at Roland Garros — Alcaraz said the key for him the past two to three months has been finding the “right way to enjoy … doesn’t matter if I’m winning or losing.”
Tarvet, a junior at the University of San Diego, would be due to receive £99,000 ($135,000) for reaching the second round. However, per NCAA rules, he cannot accept prize money above any amount that covers his expenses if he wants to finish his last season of eligibility in college.
In other men’s results Wednesday, Frances Tiafoe was among the Americans to fall on Day 3 of the tournament, losing to local favorite Cameron Norrie in four sets.
Russia’s Karen Khachanov, the No. 17 seed, got past Japan‘s Shintaro Mochizuki 1-6, 7-6 (7), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a hard-fought five-setter to reach the third round. Fellow Russian Andrey Rublev, seeded 14th, rallied from a set down to beat South Africa‘s Lloyd Harris 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Also advancing was Nuno Borges, who became the third Portuguese player to make the final 32 at Wimbledon in the Open era (since 1968). He defeated Britain’s Billy Harris 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7).
ESPN Research and Reuters contributed to this report.
Source: espn.com