Second seed Carlos Alcaraz has cruised into round three at Wimbledon on Wednesday, crushing Ollie Tarvet of Britain in ruthless fashion amid the upsets at this year’s competition.
A handful of the men’s top 10 seeds have suffered shock early exits while four of the women’s top five seeds are already out after two rounds at Wimbledon. But Alcaraz showed no signs of falling.
The French Open champion, who went into the second round clash on the back of a 15-match winning streak at Wimbledon, was at his efficient best to get a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over Tarvet.
Tarvet was the lowest ranked player left in the men’s singles, ranked 733 in the world, and he put up a valiant display in the second and third set but ultimately succumbed.
Alcaraz had to save eight break points in the first set, but lost only one game and broke twice himself to move ahead in the contest against the American qualifier.
21-year-old Tarvet, who is a U.S. college student in San Diego, finally broke the Spaniard’s serve to go 2-0 up in the second set but that seemed to jolt Alcaraz awake and he won the next four points to break back immediately.
Another break in the ninth game was enough for Alcaraz to take the second set but the contest still had flickers of life left in it. The world number two broke to go 3-2 up in the third set but Tarvet, who had no intention of lying down and accepting his fate, struck back in the next game.
Alcaraz was again roused into action and once more won the following four points to claim the decisive break that allowed him to see out the contest. A thundering service winner on match point brought the crowd to their feet, as much to acclaim Tarvet’s efforts as 22-year-old Alcaraz’s comfortable win.