London (AFP) – Britain’s Oliver Tarvet shrugged off any bitter feelings about rules preventing him from collecting all of his Wimbledon prize money to beat fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi in the first round on Monday. The San Diego University student rose to the occasion in his first appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam, dispatching his Swiss opponent 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. The 21-year-old will face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or Italian veteran Fabio Fognini in the second round.
Tarvet’s victory came after he battled through three rounds of qualifying to make it to the grass-court Grand Slam for the first time. But Tarvet, currently 733 in the ATP rankings, will not profit significantly from his hard work. Under National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules in the United States, players are required to stay amateur and are restricted in how much prize money they can claim from professional tournaments. Tarvet is planning to go back to university for his final year, meaning his Wimbledon prize money, which is now guaranteed to be at least £99,000 ($135,000), will largely go unclaimed. Tarvet can collect $10,000 as well as the expenses he has incurred during the tournament.
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The British player has called for a change in the rules, joking that he would fly his coach to London with a first-class ticket to try to ensure he would not have to forfeit too much. “In my opinion, I’ve worked hard to get this money. I don’t feel like it’s undeserved the money that I’ve got,” he said before the tournament. “I think it would be good to see a change in the rules of the NCAA, but at the same time, I don’t want to get involved. It’s not really my place.”
After securing the biggest win of his career, Tarvet hugged his family at courtside and insisted money was only part of his motivation at Wimbledon. “I’ve got to find more and more on expenses by the day,” he said. “We’ll see. I’m not here for the money, I’m here for the crowd and the experience and just to stamp my mark. I think I’ve done a pretty good job so far,” he told the BBC. “There’s a lot of emotions, just really overjoyed. All the hard work I put in the last few years has clearly paid off. It’s my first tour-level event, to come out here, come through qualifying, win a first-round match, have a chance to play maybe Carlos on Wednesday, it’s just a dream come true.”
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