Oliver Tarvet preferred “pressing 500 lbs” and practising his serve late at night to dabbling in the San Diego “party scene”, according to his US college coach. And Ryan Keckley claims that is why the world No.733 is “ready” to face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz without any fear at Wimbledon today. “Every challenge that we put in front of him, he's done sensational,” he said.

Tarvet, 21, is still a student at the University of San Diego (USD) but he has played like a veteran to come through qualifying and set up the biggest match of his life against the Spanish superstar. And he has always shown this maturity on and off the court as he avoided the temptations of southern California to concentrate on his future career.

“Oli never really dabbled in the party scene,” said the USD’s head men’s tennis coach. “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, and I have control of the lights on our facility.

He's like: ‘I need the lights on again’. So he was out there hitting serves. He wanted to be a pro. And you can tell right away the guy wants to be a pro or if they're just barking up the tree of wanting to be a pro. But he was a guy that I could tell was different right away. He wanted to get better and he has.”

Even Tarvet’s shouts of “Gareth” during matches - in reference to Gareth Bale and not "bailing out" - have a reason beyond an in-joke with his Toreros team-mates.

The bronzed Keckley, who got on a “red-eye” to arrive at 6am on Monday for Tarvet’s first match, said: “We wanted him to be loose. We wanted him to be himself because when he is external, he is sensational. It’s a way to stay focused, it’s a way to stay mentally engaged. He’s checked in. That’s really what that’s about. That’s pretty funny.”

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Keckley is part of the brains trust which will help draw up the game plan to take on the four-time Major champion. He reckons Tarvet’s true world ranking is “probably 120-150” but can he beat the world No.2? “In my opinion, Oli has proven himself worthy of any candidate here,” said the coach.

“That's the beauty about sport, you just never know. Do I think he has the capability of going out there and beating him? Absolutely, because every challenge that we put in front of him, he's done sensational.

“Our goal is to try to get him to play free right from the beginning. He's been himself over the course of this week, the same way he was in San Diego playing all these different college tennis matches.

"He plays without fear. Has he faced the like of Alcaraz’s level? No, he hasn't but I know he's up for the challenge. I know he's excited about it. We all. and I think British tennis as well, want to see how he handles that moment.”

Tarvet can claim all his Wimbledon prize money in “actual and necessary expenses” as well as a $10,000 profit, the NCAA has confirmed. He is guaranteed to earn £99,000 after coming through qualifying and making the second round but wants to remain an amateur and complete his degree in communications.

If Tarvet does not claim his full prize money, it will be added to the “surplus” made by The Championships (£49.8m last year) of which 90% is given to the Lawn Tennis Association to invest in British tennis.