- Oliver Tarvet will continue his Wimbledon journey against champion Alcaraz
- The 21-year-old came through qualifying as a San Diego college athlete
For US college tennis coaches, the evening buzz of a mobile phone could be a summons to drag a player out of a boozy frat party. In the case of San Diego head coach Ryan Keckley, it was more often a message from young Brit Oliver Tarvet: ‘It has gone dark and I need to hit more serves, can you turn on the lights?’
It is this work ethic which has Keckley convinced Tarvet can achieve the seemingly impossible and take out defending champion Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday.
Tarvet, 21 years old and the world No733, was the story of Wimbledon’s opening day, as he beat fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi to set up a date with the world No2. So we tracked down his coach, still jetlagged from a red-eye flight from Chicago which landed at 6am on Monday morning, to get the inside story on the unlikely star of Wimbledon’s opening day.
Was he surprised by Tarvet’s run through qualifying all the way to Centre Court?
‘No, not at all, the 40-year-old replies immediately. ‘The top level of college tennis, players are competing at a top 100, top 150 level. What did surprise me was how well he’s handled the nerves of just the situation. It’s a big moment.
‘I knew his play and work ethic and mentality are at this level, but to go through with it is another story and he’s handled the nerves just beautifully.’
So, can he beat Alcaraz? Keckley pauses to choose his words. ‘Listen, in my opinion, Olly has proven himself worthy of any candidate here,’ he says. ‘The beauty about sport is you just never know. Do I think he has the capability of going out there and beating him? Absolutely, because every challenge we put in front of him, he’s done sensational.’
The path from American college to the pro ranks is increasingly well-trodden by British players. Cam Norrie was the pathfinder, heading to Texas Christian University, and he famously once crashed a moped on a night out. It is usual for young men to go through a process of getting that out of their system before knuckling down, but not Tarvet.
‘Olly never really dabbled in the party scene,’ says Keckley. ‘He’s a very social individual but I had to keep him off the court.
‘I knew he was going to be good his freshman year, he’d always text me at 7.30pm at night, I have control of the lights on our facility, he’s like, I need the lights on again. He was out there hitting serves.
‘He was pressing 500 lbs, really gifted mover, his work ethic was off the charts. So 12/10 one of the hardest workers we’ve had. So you give me a good athlete, you give me a good worker, you give me great character – and he was open minded and that’s a really big key for his success: he’s been willing to listen.’
Keckley has been head coach of San Diego men’s tennis for a decade and is clearly invested body and soul in his young charges. He was waking up at 3am each day to follow Tarvet’s scores from qualifying and ‘as soon as he won the final match, I packed a bag’.
‘It’s a very surreal experience,’ says Keckley, who had never been to Wimbledon before this week. ‘I can’t believe it. I am not a crier, very non-emotional, and when Oli won that match, I started crying a little bit. The moment got to me.
‘Why do I get into coaching? I got into coaching because I want to see guys accomplish their dreams. And so I got a player from Great Britain playing in the first round of Wimbledon, after working three years to get here, and he did it. It’s just a moment of pure happiness.’
