Moment in the sun with Fed made me hungry for more
‘I was massive. Drinking, eating — I was a total mess’
MARCuS WILLIS grins broadly. Nicknames are on the agenda, a reminder of his former life and a nod to the lairy reputation that earned him the circuit nickname Cartman — a reference to the obese cartoon character in American comedy South Park.
‘My doubles partner said I looked like Wally Walrus from Woody the
Woodpecker,’ laughs Willis, now 26. ‘That was when I was big and had a dodgy ’tache.’
A year ago, this was the perception of Willis in the tennis community. No caricature was big enough for a larger-than-life character who charmed and exasperated peers in equal measure.
This was before his life changed in the most remarkable fashion, as the Brit captivated a nation as the protagonist in one of Wimbledon’s most endearing plotlines.
To recap, Willis was the 772ndranked tennis player in the world, on the brink of walking away from the sport until he met a girl named Jennifer at an Ellie Goulding concert who convinced him to carry on. He then rocked up at Wimbledon, navigated the qualifiers, won seven matches and faced Roger Federer on Centre Court.
Since then, life has only got better. He is no longer living with his parents, for starters. Dentist Jennifer Bate is now his wife and the couple have a young daughter named Martha May.
Above all, he has a renewed focus for tennis, saying: ‘If I used to be Cartman, maybe I should now be Popeye. I’ve got myself in shape. Popeye is not smashing pints, just spinach. I’ve lost seven per cent of my body fat. I have a way to go.’
His ranking has risen to 387 and, for the first time in a long while, Willis sees a prosperous future in tennis.
There was a time when he was one of Britain’s brightest hopes — national No 1 at under 18 level and 14 in the world at junior level. When he trained as an 18-year-old at the National Tennis Centre, he beat Andy Murray despite being four years younger than the Scot.
‘He had to buy me lunch,’ grins Willis. ‘He wasn’t very happy.
‘I had worked with a Russian guy as a teenager but then got a free deal at the NTC for the year. I lost my drive a little. I wasn’t happy or relaxed. There was more pressure. It wasn’t fun anymore. When they didn’t renew my contract, I was a bit relieved. I was just 19. My ranking was good but they had concerns about my personality and fitness. They didn’t think I was serious enough.’
Most damningly, he was sent home as a 17-year-old junior from the Australian Open by the LTA due to poor organisation, although he insists to this day it was unfair.
‘I was a kid. People use a reputation against you. Now I’m married with a kid, in good shape and I let my racket do the talking.’
After falling out of the national system, Willis pursued a career by himself. He struggled with both the costs and self-discipline, often being lured to university nights out by his old school friends.
‘A lot of players from the juniors scene thought, “Where’s this guy gone? Has he stopped?” Part of me looks back and it is frustrating. There was no official support system for me.’
By Christmas 2015, Willis had plumbed his lowest depths. He came back injured and downtrodden from a trip to America, with mounting credit card debts and crippling self-doubt.
‘I was so miserable.ibl It was reallyll awful. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was living with my parents — living the dream as a 24-year-old! My dad found it hard. He didn’t want his son to be miserable any more. It sucks the life out of people.
‘One embarrassing video sums it up. I asked my doubles partner for a coke as energy drinks and water weren’t getting me through a match. He got me a can — and a Snickers chocolate I didn’t ask for. The commentator was in uproar saying, “I can’t believe what is going on”. After the match, I had a sip of it and put my thumbs up to the cameras.
‘After Wimbledon last year, Snickers sent me a big box! It’s unopened in my garage. My agent said they offered me a free year’s supply.
‘Honestly, though, I was a unit. Massive. It was eating, drinking, everything. I was basically a mess. My school mates were at university. I have been on the lash at every unii under the sun. Now it’s not an issue. I met Jennie and it turned. I can’t remember the last time I had a pint.’
The harsh economic realities of life on the tennis circuit are unsettling. ‘I had no money at all, a few hundred quid here and there. I made losses all the time on trips. I went to Spain for a Futures tournament in Madrid. I won the singles and lost in the finals of the doubles and my profit was €60. It’s very, very tough.’
The Wimbledon run provided new financial security after he received £50,000 for reaching the second round. He and Jennifer have since done interviews with
Hello! magazine and made TV appearances, although they declined to do a photoshoot when their daughter was born.
‘We have paid off the nearly £25,000 from credit cards, mostly mine, and cleared the debts. We have private sponsors keeping me afloat, including a three-year deal with Mizuno (a Japanese sports equipment company). I have good fallbacks now, I could go to the States and earn quite a lot of money coaching. I don’t want to just yet. In 10 years, I don’t want to be looking back and thinking “How good could I have been?” If I try and fail, at least I know I have given everything I have got.’
Today, a Wimbledon committee will meet and decide whether he is granted a wildcard that would allow him to bypass qualifying.
‘Last year was amazing. On the night before my pre- qualifiers, I was at a Coldplay concert with a glass of Pimms. They have a song called Up and Up. My dad told me to listen to every lyric to push me on.
‘It was very emotional for my dad. We didn’t get on that well when I was younger because he was pushing. We had our runins but he travelled everywhere with me.
‘Roger Federer was the dream. I was bricking myself the night before. I lobbed him and then he beat me 6-0 in the first set — bad idea! After that, I played good tennis. I got to game points and break points and panicked a bit.
‘I’d love a main draw wildcard.’