Marcus Willis
(July 31, 2017) BILLIE JEAN KING USTA NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER, Flushing Meadows, NY – Great Britain’s Marcus Willis held off set points and match points to close out a second straight victory for the New York Empire on Monday night winning a tiebreak over Benjamin Becker to give the home team a 21-18 win over the Springfield Lasers.
Commenting on being the “closer” for a second straight night, Willis said “I started out a bit nervy, in the end I found my game. One I do is to fight very hard – it worked.”
What changed the match around for last year’s Wimbledon qualifier: “I was focusing a lot, I was adjusting my serve a lot, noted the southpaw. “It’s very different conditions than last night, it’s slower today.”
“I just stayed focused and believed that I could win.”
Willis was 2-3 down in the set but the crowd got behind him and motivated him. “It was quite a dynamic atmosphere. It felt like a home match.”
Willis was not intimidated at all playing on the grounds of grounds of the US Open. “Wimbledon was pretty daunting. I seem to play well in big stadiums, so far, so good.”
The No. 528th ranked player in the world says that his life has changed a lot since last year when he made it through the 2016 Wimbledon qualies to reach the second round of the main draw. “I’m looking forward to getting back on court more this year. Just had a baby so took some time out. I have to get back in shape and get on tour right now. I’m looking forward to that. Coming back stronger next year I hope. Play for the Empire again.”
Willis plans to play tournaments in Portugal, in August, then Turkey for two challengers and then the US for six weeks, then Thailand at the end of the year or Japan – depending on his ranking. He hopes to get in the top 300, top 350 by the end of the year.
The Empire win keeps the team’s hopes alive for a playoff spot with one regular season match remaining.
NEW YORK EMPIRE def. Springfield Lasers 21-18
Men’s Doubles – Neal Skupski\Marcus Willis (Empire) def. Benjamin Becker\Nicolaas Scholtz (Lasers) 5-2
Women’s Doubles – Sorana Cirstea\Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Lasers) def. Kirsten Flipkens\Maria Sanchez (Empire) 5-4
Mixed Doubles – Kirsten Flipkens\Neal Skupski (Empire) def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld\Benjamin Becker (Lasers) 5-2
Women’s Singles – Sorana Cirstea (Lasers) def. Kirsten Flipkens (Empire) 5-2
Men’s Singles – Marcus Willis (Empire) def. Benjamin Becker (Lasers) 5-4
ORANGE COUNTY BREAKERS def. San Diego Aviators 24-17
Women’s Singles – Yanina Wickmayer (Breakers) def. Naomi Broady (Aviators) 5-2
Women’s Doubles – Yanina Wickmayer\Andreja Klepac (Breakers) def. Naomi Broady\Darija Jurak (Aviators) 5-3
Men’s Doubles – Teymuraz Gabashvili\Ken Skupski (Breakers) def. Rajeev Ram\Raven Klaasen (Aviators) 5-3
Mixed Doubles – Raven Klaasen\Darija Jurak (Aviators) def. Ken Skupski\Andreja Klepac (Breakers) 5-4
Men’s Singles – Teymuraz Gabashvili (Breakers) def. Rajeev Ram (Aviators) 5-4
Standings
| MP | W | L | PCT | MB | STRK | |
| Orange County Breakers | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0.583 | 0.0 | W2 |
| San Diego Aviators | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0.583 | 0.0 | L1 |
| New York Empire | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0.538 | 0.5 | W2 |
| Philadelphia Freedoms | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0.500 | 1.0 | W1 |
| Springfield Lasers | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0.462 | 1.5 | L2 |
| Washington Kastles | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0.333 | 3.0 | L5 |
Next Matches: 8/1/2017
Washington Kastles @ ORANGE COUNTY BREAKERS, 6:05 PM PDT
Philadelphia Freedoms @ SAN DIEGO AVIATORS, 7:00 PM PDT
EP = Extended Play
STB = Supertiebreaker