Alcaraz ends Tarvet’s run; 4th seed Paolini bows out

Carlos Alcaraz ended Oliver Tarvet's Wimbledon adventure on Wednesday, seeing off the British amateur in straight sets to reach the third round as last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini joined the exit of stars.

- Agencies

A record-breaking number of top seeds crashed out at the All England Club in the first round but Alcaraz and women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka avoided second-round shocks on Centre Court.

Defending champion Alcaraz needed two hours and 17 minutes to subdue world number 733 Tarvet, who produced flashes of his emerging talent to delight the partisan crowd.

“First of all I have to give big praise to Oliver. In his second match on the tour, I just loved his game to be honest,” said the Spaniard after his 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win. “I knew I had to play my best tennis. I was really happy with my performance but big praise to him as well.”

Alcaraz has won his past 20 matches, a blistering streak that has brought him titles at the Rome Masters, the French Open and Queen's Club.

The 22-year-old, who beat Jannik Sinner in the final at Roland Garros last month, has won 31 of his 34 Tour-level matches on grass -- his last defeat at Wimbledon came against Sinner in the fourth round in 2022