IMAGINE IF HE’D WON!
He thrills crowd but Fed romps it
Marcus Willis, of Warwick Boat club, stepped out on to the centre court to face roger Federer, much- admired citizen of the world, and nobody knew quite what to make of it.
The great swiss was in the unaccustomed role of pantomime villain while Willis, grinning and waving, looked like he might have been the winner of a Play roger competition.
He was, after all, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the rF logo, which he bought last summer.
in the hour- and- a- half that followed his entrance — a somewhat more uplifting 90 minutes than England’s footballers managed against iceland on Monday — we found out that neither was quite what we expected.
Federer was calm, polite and businesslike in the face of a raucous crowd. Willis produced enough great shotmaking to remind everyone that he was in Wimbledon’s second round on merit, having won seven matches through various qualifying stages to get there.
‘it was not a standard Wednesday,’ said Willis later, referring to his usual stints of coaching from 4pm until 8pm, earning £30 an hour. But by the end of it all normal order had been restored, with the world No 3 subduing the game world No 772 in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3, 6-4. romance lives on in modern tennis, but there are not many fairytales.
The Wimbledon legend progresses to play Britain’s Dan Evans or ukraine’s alex Dolgopolov, while Willis will go back to his day job, coaching members at his club in the Midlands.
His next competitive match may be for their team in the coventry league, but he could skip tonight’s fixture. ‘i’m exhausted. i’ve earned myself a beer,’ he said.
it was fun while it lasted, Wimbledon’s flirtation with an Eddie The Eagle-type scenario. Or for those whose memories go back further, it might have evoked the more serious business of richard Dunn fighting Muhammad ali in the 1970s. Either way, the underdog could not overcome insuperable odds.
You could rarely remember a match on the old arena where the crowd have so much lived every point with one of the players, urging Willis to win each one while trying to keep a straight face at the same time.
up in the royal Box, sir cliff richard looked like he had not had this much fun in ages.
Federer described the match as ‘nice but difficult at the same time’. certainly it was unusual to have the crowd against him, and the only time in recent years you could remember something comparable was the final of the 2012 Olympics, when the home fans roared andy Murray to a gold medal.
Federer was impressed with Willis, although he left it unsaid that the style of the British No 23 will not work as well on the slower surfaces that now proliferate on the professional circuit.
‘What i like about his game is that he reads it well,’ said Federer.
‘He can slice easily, he chips it really well. He has a nice serve. i struggled reading it.
‘at the net he was very solid, like most British tennis players. i think for him, it’s a question of just day in, day out, just wanting it, being able to bring the point-to-point mentality. i believe he can make big strides.’
Willis pledged he will not go back to his hard-partying life and was not planning a big night out.
‘in my earlier days i would have done that. The reason why i’m here is that i haven’t been doing stuff like that,’ he said.
He is already considering returning to the tour earlier than next year. ‘i will play some. i will keep training as i have been. That’s not going to change. This has all been incredible and a bit of a blur. i’ve gone from one extreme to the other in a matter of days.’
His most treasured memory will be the spectacular lob he played in the third game that helped bring around a break point. it left Federer stranded and brought the centre court crowd to its feet.
Willis said: ‘i will always be able to say, “i lobbed roger Federer on centre court”.’
THEmost important thing early on for Willis was to get in an early service hold to settle himself down, but he was broken in the second game despite saving his first break point with an ace.
Federer was concentrating on playing within himself and getting to grips with Willis’s unconventional style, one that he will not have seen in a long time.
unlike previous opponents, the swiss was not fazed by the constant slices and forehand chops, and was smacking them away as they floated down the court at him.
The first set was over in just 24 minutes, but Willis finally held for 1-1 in the second, raising his arms in delight, with the roof nearly lifted off by the accompanying roar.
it was rather like liam Broady against andy Murray the previous afternoon, with the overmatched player settling more into it as the match progressed.
converting a break point at 3-2 in the third would have prolonged matters, but Federer was too good on the big points. He will be back on centre court soon enough, while Willis departs with a new world ranking around 400 and £50,000 richer after his life - changing experience.