Britain’s biggest underdog at Wimbledon this year will surely be world No 719 Oliver Tarvet.
Tarvet, currently studying at the University of San Diego, sealed a spot in the Wimbledon main draw after coming through qualifying.
But having to maintain his amateur status as a university athlete means Tarvet, in addition to expenses, can only claim $10,000 (approximately £7,300) of a guaranteed £66,000 in prize money just for reaching Wimbledon.
Tarvet said: “There’s been complaints about it but I don’t want to speak too much about it, I don’t want to overstep anything.
“In my opinion, I’ve worked hard to get this money and I don’t really feel like it’s undeserved, the money that I’ve got. So I think it would be good to see a change in the rules.”
Tarvet is the first male British qualifier for Wimbledon since Alexander Ward in 2017.
Tarvet is the first male British qualifier for Wimbledon since Alexander Ward in 2017. He followed up his victory over 14th seed Terence Atmane in round one with a 6-3 6-2 win against Canada’s Alexis Galarneau before defeating 29th seed Alexander Blockx of Belgium 6-3 3-6 6-2 6-1 to progress to the main draw.
“I haven’t really been exposed to this level before or these players before,” the 21-year-old told Sky Sports News.
“I did of good job of just focusing on what’s important and what gives me success. In qualifying I just was able to sustain a really high level throughout all three matches and I’ve ended up where I am today. So I couldn’t be more happy.
“It’s really special,” he added. “There’s a lot of emotions that have happened in the last four days but all of them have been really positive. Being here at the site it’s finally starting to hit me and just seems all pretty surreal.
“But it’s really special to be part of something that I always dreamed of.”
