A British Wimbledon debutant ranked at 733 is “staying present in the moment” ahead of his match against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, his coach has said.
Oliver Tarvet, 21, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, received a wild card into qualifying and won three matches to earn his place at the All England Club.
Monday saw Tarvet claim a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win over fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi from Switzerland, giving him the chance to challenge the Wimbledon champion on Wednesday.
The San Diego University student has insisted he could keep the run going against Alcaraz, who only scraped past Italy’s Fabio Fognini.
Associate head coach Alex Funkhouser, who has worked with Tarvet at the California university for around three years, told the PA news agency on Tuesday: “(Tarvet) is good, he’s just staying present in the moment, that’s just what’s been the important piece for us.
“Taking it day by day and focusing on ourselves rather than everything else, because it’s obviously then very chaotic and very easy to let ourselves get distracted and focus on the wrong things, and we’re trying our best to focus on the right things.”
Tarvet’s mother and father will be watching Wednesday’s match and he has flown his girlfriend out from California to join, Mr Funkhouser said.
Asked about his possible strengths against Alcaraz, Mr Funkhouser told PA: “At the end of the day what really matters is just staying true to who we are.
“A lot of people are talking to us about what the game plan is against Carlos and to be honest with you there’s enough to worry about over on Carlos’ side of the court – as long as we take care of our side of the court first, that’s what really matters.
“We’ve got three, potentially four or five, sets to work our way through the match and try to figure out what to do – and Carlos has a lot of weapons, a lot of skills and very little deficiencies – so we just try and stay in our lane and be who we are and see if it just works out.”
On Monday, Tarvet said: “I’ve come here and not really set myself any expectations. I’m quietly confident that I can win against anyone. Alcaraz isn’t an exception to that.”
Mr Funkhouser continued: “(Tarvet) is just a natural competitor, I think that’s what’s really exciting about him.
“I know there’s not a lot of flash with his game, like a Roger or an Alcaraz and all those guys – he’s not that type of player – but where he gets exciting is his emotion on court, similar to a Nadal and Djokovic and those guys who get fired up.
“It can be infectious. The passion and enthusiasm that he plays with, I think that’s what people are really going to enjoy and start to fall in love with”.
Tarvet, a communications major, joined San Diego as a “very physical, dynamic player, but also very defensive-minded”, Mr Funkhouser said.
His team worked on boosting the “firepower” of his serve and forehand, as well as his “offensive patterns of play”.
This was without “leaving who he is as a competitor” and while “using his defence… to his advantage”, the coach added.
The key to his game against Alcaraz will be “serve and return” as with other matches, because it provides “favourable positions to start the point”, he said.
“That’s something that he’s done really well to this point, and something that is going to continue to get even more challenging with tomorrow’s opportunity.”
Mr Funkhouser said he made his first approach to the young player through Instagram around four and a half years ago, during the Covid pandemic, when off-campus recruiting was restricted.
The crew will be keeping Tarvet comfortable and in a good headspace ahead of the game.
“When he’s confident in his body his mind is really confident, and that’s the thing for us”, he said, adding that the player listens to music before matches.
By reaching the second round, Tarvet’s prize money has gone up to a guaranteed £99,000, but much of that may have to go unclaimed.
He is planning to go back to university in the United States for his final year, and the rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which runs college sports, requires players to stay amateur.
Tarvet can claim 10,000 US dollars (approximately £7,300) as well as the expenses he has incurred during the tournament.
