Mother on front foot as unlikely hero faces abuse over his weight
Wimbledon favourite Marcus Willis gets helping hand against tirades of ‘bitter individuals’
HE has described himself as a “fat loser” and faced criticism on social media during his tennis career.
But Marcus Willis, who became a Wimbledon crowd favourite last year when he lost to Roger Federer in the second round of the singles, has at least one supporter leaping to his defence – his mother Cathy.
The 26-year-old 14st player, ranked 374th in the world, has faced a barrage of abuse online from social media trolls who have made remarks about his weight and performance.
Mrs Willis, a teaching assistant, took it upon herself to seek out online abuse and responded to one unpleasant comment: “Please tell me, what is your definition of a bully? Maybe it’s someone who launches unprovoked personal abuse at someone else?”
Taking another of her son’s online critics to task, she said: “I expect he finds your ridiculous insults slightly boring, he’s got far better things to do than engage with trolls.”
But Willis and 18-year-old Jay Clarke had the last laugh as they progressed to the third round of the men’s doubles with a win over French duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.
On his Twitter account, Willis criticised the “unnecessary abuse” he was receiving, adding that it “never happens to my face... keyboard warriors”.
Addressing one particular critic, he wrote: “Why do you think your opinion matters? Bitter individual writing negative comments with 100 followers.”
Willis said yesterday: “I mean,who are they? They have got a lot of spare time on their hands to sit and abuse people on Twitter who are in the spotlight. I’m sure they would rather be in the spotlight rather than sat at home eating Wotsits.”
But he added he enjoyed the support of the crowds at Wimbledon. “It’s always great. I think people get behind Brits here, whoever they are.”
Willis is known to mock himself and takes criticism from friends in good spirit – even earning the nickname Cartman, a character in the cartoon series South Park, due to his weight.
Discussing his nickname he said: “It was hilarious. I was massively overweight ... I’ve got myself in much better shape. I’ve still got to improve and still a few kilos to get rid of but I’m doing it slowly and I’m fit.”
Liam Broady, another British player, said Willis had earned his nickname for “drinking Pepsis” and “eating Snickers on the court. That’s when he got the nickname. He lives up to it”.
He added: “I think that’s one of his big advantages, he’s so relaxed at this stage. He laughs it off. It’s just a big advantage of his to have.”
Who says professional tennis is a young person’s game? For the first time in the modern era, nearly half of the male players through to the final week of Wimbledon are aged over 30. The seven-times champion Roger Federer, 35, would become the oldest winner since Arthur Ashe (31) in 1975 were he to lift the trophy next Sunday. The three other top seeds, Andy Murray, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, are also in their 30s. Among the women, Venus Williams, aged 37, is still in the mix. There was a time when all the top players seemed barely out of their teens. But fitness coaches, dieticians and the rest of the entourage behind the modern professional have kept them at the top far longer. Even so, they still have a long way to go to beat Arthur Gore, who was 41 when he won the 1909 title.