He faced Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon, but what happened next to Oliver Tarvet?
When you have stepped foot on the biggest stage of them all against the most celebrated player in the current game, returning to life in the backwaters of the sport is not an easy task.
Yet that is what faced Britain’s Oliver Tarvet as he came through qualifying and won his first main draw match at Wimbledon last summer, setting up a clash with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz on Centre Court.
Tarvet performed well in a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 against the player who was ranked at world No.1, but his next tournament was played in front of a modest crowd as he returned to the ITF World Tennis Tour to win a tournament where the prize for the winner was just $4,612 and a mere 25 ranking points.
After collecting £99,000 (around $131,000) for his achievement of coming through qualifying and getting through a round in the most prestigious tournament in all of tennis, Tarvet admits the challenge after that high was to drive himself forward to ensure he will have more Centre Court moments against greats like Alcaraz.
Speaking to Tennis265 at an ASICS event in London, Tarvet claimed he used his Wimbledon experience from 12 months ago as the ultimate motivation tool as he looked to take his career to the next level.
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Tarvet’s Wimbledon heroics propelled him up the ATP Rankings, but he is about to enter a period where the points he collected a year ago will drop off and he admits the challenge of sustaining success has been tough.
“Everything that happened last year was a big learning experience for me,” he told Tennis365 ahead of his match against Alex Bolt in Wimbledon qualifying. “I feel like I’ve definitely made some big strides in my game, but maybe I haven’t had the success I wanted.
“I decided to take a semester off from college from September until December and experience what life was like on the Challenger circuit.
“I’ve had success for a few weeks at Wimbledon last year, but how do you do that week and week out? And I feel like, you know, having that routine and figuring out what gives me success was a massive, massive part of my development.
“I feel like right now I’m in a really good spot. I’ve started, had a good month so far under grass training, competing and hopefully I can do the same thing as it did last year.”
In a repeat of last year’s story, Tarvet has been given a wildcard into Wimbledon qualifying and he is relishing the chance to try and repeat his success on grass courts.
“You can’t expect things to happen. You just need to stay in the present,” he added. “Putting that expectation or pressure on yourself is not giving me success.
“I had a bit of that on the Challenger circuit last fall, I put a bit of pressure on myself to do well after I had a bit of a breakthrough at Wimbledon and I was able to beat four guys inside the top 150.
“I just thought that was going to continue, but I know now that is a bad way to think. You have to be really on it and not take anything for granted.
“Everyone who is on the Challenger circuit can play. If you’re not on your A game and if you’re not mentally focused and prepared for a battle, you can get surprised.”
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Tarvet’s fairy tale run at Wimbledon earned him headlines around the world, but the brutal realities of tennis has hit this affable 22-year-old over the last year.
While he still has more than enough time to ensure his moment with Alcaraz was not just a one-off, Tarvert’s story highlights how maintaining winning form at the top of the men’s game is a huge challenge that only a chosen few can sustain.
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In part two of our interview with Tarvet, he will look back at the experience of taking on Alcaraz on the biggest stage in tennis.
