British qualifier Tarvet preparing hefty expense claim after dream Wimbledon debut

CNA

11 hours ago

LONDON :British qualifier Oliver Tarvet said he will have to get creative with his expenses after delighting a raucous Wimbledon crowd with a debut win in his first Grand Slam match on Monday.
The 21-year-old University of San Diego student produced a stunning display to outclass fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi of Switzerland 6-4 6-4 6-4 and book a potential dream clash with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Ranked the 33rd best British player and at 733 in the ATP rankings, Tarvet won three rounds of qualifying and looked totally at home in front of a packed Court Four crowd.
Second-round losers receive 99,000 pounds ($135,699) at Wimbledon this year but because of Tarvet's amateur status he is only allowed to pocket a maximum of $10,000 under National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules.
He is allowed to claim necessary expenses, however, and while he admitted his comment after qualifying about flying his coach home to California on a private jet was a joke, Tarvet said he would be looking at other ways to benefit from some of the prize money, without jeopardising his college career.
"If we can't figure things out financially I hope to get the prize money and use that money as expenses," he said. "I will try and do everything I can to make that work out and to find X amount of expenses so I'm under $10,000 of profit. It's something I've got to figure out.
"Maybe I hire someone to help me out with the expenses, make sure the NCAA are happy. As I said, it's very important for me. I have a lot of goals at (University of San Diego) still."
Explaining his predicament in more detail, he said: "By December, I need to show that, profit or prize money minus expenses equals less than $10,000.
"I don't know how much I made. I think I made 99,000 pounds, obviously that's before tax. I've got to find 60,000 or 70,000 of expenses. Tennis is an expensive sport so hopefully I can make that happen."
"Maybe just pay my coaches a little bit extra. I don't know. We'll figure something out. Fly business class. I keep humble."
Despite being a relative novice, Tarvet said the college tennis system in the United States was the perfect grounding for what he hopes will be a successful professional career.
With many friends in the crowd, it felt at times like a college match atmosphere in the Wimbledon sunshine as Tarvet's relentless intensity proved too much for big-serving Riedi who likened his opponent to a wall.
Tarvet did not face a single break point and he said if he does play five-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz in the next round he will not be overawed.
"I've come here and not really set myself any expectations. I'm quietly confident that I can win against anyone. Alcaraz isn't an exception to that," he said.
Tarvet was the only British player to survive the qualifying tournament, joining 22 other home players in the singles draws, 14 of them wildcards.
($1 = 0.7308 pounds)