(June 29, 2016) British qualifier Marcus Willis had his Cinderella story come to an end when seven-time champion Roger Federer brought him down to earth 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of Wimbledon on Wednesday. The tennis instructor ranked 772nd in the world reached the main draw through both a special pre-qualifying tournament for British players advancing into the regular qualifying tournament.
Willis had the crowd behind him on Centre Court with the roof closed at the All England Club. For Federer, a Wimbledon fan favorite, expected the crowd to support his opponent.
“I expected something like this, especially under the roof. He was going to have some supporters and they were going to have chants. I felt very well prepared. I enjoyed it.”
“It’s his moment. I wanted him to have a great time,” Federer said. “I’ll remember most of the Centre Court matches here at Wimbledon, but this one will stand out because it’s that special and probably not going to happen again for me to play against a guy 770 in the world. I enjoyed it as much as I possibly could.”
“I did look up twice as I bounced the ball, and saw Roger Federer, and thought, ‘Oh, haven’t seen this before,'” said the 25-year-old Brit who lives at home with his parents. “It was surreal.”
“It was all just a blur,” the left-handed Willis said after the match. “It was amazing. I did enjoy myself even though I was getting duffed up. I loved every bit of it. Not the duffing bit. I loved getting stuck in, fighting hard.”
“The whole experience was incredible.”
For Federer, it was his 81st match win at Wimbledon. He’s second all-time to Jimmy Connors with 84.
Top seed Novak Djokovic advanced earlier in the day which saw rain wash out 40 of the matches on the outer courts. Wimbledon is issuing refunds to many of the Wednesday patrons.
Djokovic won his 30th consecutive match at a major with his victory over France’s Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5).
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World No. 772 Marcus Willis Reaches Wimbledon Second Round and Will Face Roger Federer