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Carlos Alcaraz will aim to avoid one of Wimbledon’s greatest upsets against British amateur Oliver Tarvet on Wednesday after a record-breaking number of seeds crashed out at the All England Club.
Two days of searing temperatures in London were already forgotten as play on the outside courts was delayed by persistent drizzle.
But the rain will not hinder defending champion Alcaraz in his second-round match against Tarvet on the covered Centre Court.
Their contest will follow the match between women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka and Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic.
Alcaraz’s meeting with the British qualifier is a classic David against Goliath encounter.
While the Spaniard, a five-time Grand Slam champion, is bidding for a third successive Wimbledon crown, world number 733 Tarvet is playing just his second main draw match at the All England Club.
The world number two has won his past 19 matches since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April, a blistering streak that has brought him titles at the Rome Masters, the French Open and Queen’s Club.
The 22-year-old, who fought back from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner on clay in an epic final at Roland Garros last month, is equally dynamic on grass, winning 30 of his 33 Tour-level matches on the surface.
His last defeat at Wimbledon came against Sinner in the fourth round in 2022.
In stark contrast to Alcaraz’s fame and fortune, the unheralded Tarvet is just starting his tennis career and cannot even collect all of his Wimbledon prize money.
As a student of the University of San Diego he has to maintain amateur status and will have to give up most of his earnings.
But he has joked that he will be creative with his expenses, suggesting he might treat himself to business-class travel or pay his coaches extra.
Tarvet, playing his first Grand Slam, is not short of self-belief ahead of the Alcaraz clash.
“I’m quietly confident that I can win against anyone,” he said. “Alcaraz isn’t an exception to that. Obviously, he’s done an incredible amount in the tennis world. He’s a difficult guy not to respect.”
Following 48 hours of major surprises across the men’s and women’s draws, an Alcaraz defeat would rank as arguably the most seismic shock in Wimbledon history.
On the men’s side, 13 seeded players lost in the first round, breaking the previous tournament record of 11 and tying the 2004 Australian Open for the most at a Grand Slam.
Third seed Alexander Zverev was the highest-ranked man to fall, losing on Tuesday to France’s Arthur Rinderknech.
Italian seventh seed Lorenzo Musetti also lost against Nikoloz Basilashvili, while Rune and Daniil Medvedev, both seeded in the top 10, were defeated on Monday.
The carnage extended to the women’s draw, with French Open champion Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, seeded second and third, bowing out on Tuesday.
Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who faces 2023 Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova on Centre Court, leads a group of seven British players in action on Wednesday.
Raducanu’s compatriot Katie Boulter, who beat ninth seed Paula Badosa in her opener, takes on Solana Sierra, an Argentine who was knocked out in qualifying before entering the main draw as a lucky loser.
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