Wimbledon 2025: Oliver Tarvet shines on Centre Court debut despite loss to world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz

Tarvet - who received a wild card into qualifying and beat fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi in the opening round - fell short to the five-time Grand Slam champion 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

The 21-year-old didn't manage to come away with the win today, but leaves South West London having written one of the storylines of tournament and with a wealth of new experience under his belt.

"It was just really special," Tarvet said, reflecting on the opportunity to play the two-time Wimbledon champion on Centre Court. "It's not every day that you get to play against maybe the best player in the world. So yeah, it was really important for me going into the match to enjoy it, enjoy the opportunity, because, as I said, it's not one that comes around too often.

"I think I did a pretty good job of enjoying the moment and trying to also play some good tennis at the same time.

"Something I learned today, was just how difficult mentally it is. I've played against some really good players before, but not quite the level of Alcaraz. I feel like as soon as I had 95% focus, I lost a game.

"You saw that today when I made a big emotional push to break him twice, and then I got broken to love straight back - it was because I gave everything, kind of emptied the tank for that game to break him. It's just really, really difficult to keep that 100% focus and 100% intensity."

While it might’ve been a straight set victory for the two-time defending champion, the match was a lot tighter than the scoreline showed, particularly in the opening set. The world No.2 was full of praise for his opponent following the meeting.

“I have to give a big credit to Oliver - his second match on the Tour. I just love his game," Alcaraz said.

"The level he played in his first match on Centre Court - I know it’s really difficult but he showed really great tennis. I knew at the beginning I had to be really focused and play my best tennis. I’m really happy about my performance today but a big credit to him."

The British wild card made a lively start to the match, as he immediately found himself with three break points on the Spaniard's serve in a gruelling eight minute first game.

The second seed held firm to bat all of them away before finding a pair of his own to take a 2-0 lead for himself.

Tarvet was particularly effective in turning defence to attack, and created plenty of chances on the Alcaraz serve - accumulating eight break point opportunities in the first set alone but failed to capitalise on any as the defending champion went on to serve out the opener in 44 minutes.

You don’t get much bigger than Centre Court at Wimbledon and despite having not competed in front of a stage this big, the University of San Diego student didn’t let the big occasion get to him once he’d put the first set behind him.

Feeding off the energy of the British crowd, Tarvet made the most of his chances early in the second as he finally managed to break the defending champion but couldn’t hang on to the lead as Alcaraz responded immediately.

With the scoreboard locked at 4-4, the Alcaraz sensed his opportunity, opening up a 40-0 lead on the world No.733’s serve before unleashing an almighty backhand which the Brit returned into the net to secure a break and eventually the second set.

The confidence within the Brit continued to increase the longer the match went on, as he recovered from yet another early break down in the third to draw back to 3-3. However, the experience of Alcaraz proved decisive in the pressure moments, with the Spaniard converting his sixth and final break point of the match to book his spot in the third round.

Earlier in the day, Cam Norrie knocked out 12th seed Frances Tiafoe to make the third round - read the full report