It was dream come true for Marcus Willis, a 25-year-old British tennis instructor who is ranked 772nd in the world and had never played a tour-level let alone Grand Slam match until a victory on last Monday, to play against Roger Federer, the greatest tennis player, in the second round of Wimbledon at the Centre court.
He was the last man invited to a playoff for low-ranked Brits to try to earn a wild-card entry for Wimbledon qualifying, won three matches at that event, then another three in qualifying rounds to get into the main draw at the All England Club. Though nobody thought he could beat Federer anyway. He didn’t. Yet, somehow, he won.
Willis showed the world he can play a bit. And he has a memory that will not quietly leave him – like some of those he has tried to park in the past. He said: “This was great. I want more. Got to knuckle down, work harder. I’m just going to keep my head down. All the support has been overwhelming. I’m absolutely exhausted and will get myself a beer.”
Federer observed: “I thought Marcus brought some unbelievable energy to the court, with his fans, and his play. He came up with some great shotmaking. I always knew it was going to be completely different to everything I’ve experienced here at Wimbledon. I remember what it was like when I walked out for the first time against Pete [Sampras] in 2001. I hope the best for him.”
Both played their shots. Federer’s were better and more frequent. But, until his drained stamina started to tug at his brain, Willis made plenty of good choices, kept it clever and did not lose faith in his gifts, of which he has many. Patience and consistency might not be among them, however, and for someone who had waited all his life for this opportunity, it seemed at times he was rushing through it like a kid let loose in a sweet shop. He hit 21 unforced errors – alongside nine aces and three double faults.
Twice he aced Federer after getting a rough call from the chair umpire. He was not disgraced. If Willis was looking for a template to cope with an opponent who knew where all the jigsaw pieces were hidden, he rightly reckoned Adrian Mannarino might provide a clue as the Frenchman tried to combat the overwhelming tennis intelligence of Novak Djokovic in the preceding match.
Willis had an unexpected ace: the crowd. Very few players have shared a court and the applause with Federer, even Andy Murray here. Willis was smiling and head-shaking, playing to the crowd and trying all his tricks from the very start. If he was nervous, he hid it well.
It was 5-0 after 20 minutes, yet it did not seem like a walkover. Some of the rallies were sublime, and not all the winners came off a Swiss racket. A delicious Willis lob in the third game helped him to a break point; he spun and teased the ball with cunning, short and long, to bring the best out of the master, and he did not lose heart. Willis was giving the fans and his sport something special, a sense of fun, something to smile about – and he loved every second of it.
No doubt he reckoned this opportunity would not pass his way again. And, when he tapped away a winner to win his first game after half an hour for 1-1 in the second, the place went crazy. When Federer challenged in vain on Willis’ serve at 40-15 in the fourth game and they replayed the point, the crowd murmured; when Willis aced to hold, they figured justice was done. But so was the overall verdict just. Federer resisted the temptation to join in the carnival atmosphere and kept the shape in his superb tennis to close out the set – although not without a few anxious moments. Willis held for 2-1 in the third, to go ahead for the first time in a set and when he held to love in the seventh game for 4-3, the energy level of the contest rose appreciably. His last shot was an overcooked, undercut backhand: trying his tricks all the way to the end.
As Centre Court rose to acclaim both players – their own most loudly – the man who the previous night confessed he had been “a loser” until his girlfriend, Jenny Bate, dragged him out of his despond, left with a priceless trophy: an hour and 25 minutes of tennis on Centre Court at Wimbledon with the greatest player of all time.
