From Amateur to Wimbledon: The Inspiring Journey of Marcus Willis

2023-07-16 10:15:00

“I’m better than this”thought Marcus Willis, the day he looked in the mirror and did not recognize himself because of his overweight. He never thought that resuming his sports habits would lead him to face Roger Federerone of the best tennis players in history, on the pitch of Wimbledon.

It was in the 2016 edition of the British Grand Slam when the unknown English tennis player became world renowned.

As if it were a Hollywood story, an amateur player won six consecutive duels, left promising athletes on the road, jumped onto the main court of the All England Club and surprised the entire circuit.

“Marcus, you are an idiot”

In January 2016, Willis had not played tennis for four months and held the 360th position in the ranking ATP. I had no motivation to resume professionalismsince he was never convinced of the rigor and discipline that athletes should maintain.

He preferred to sit in a bar drinking beer, sharing fish & chips with his friends. Maybe a hamburger.

He tried his luck at a Challenger in Tunisia, where he made it as far as the fourth round and won $365. With that he was enough to go to the United States, where he had everything ready to give tennis classes at a club in Philadelphia.

Marcus Willis before playing Wimbledon 2016.

In February, however, he fell in love. she met Jennifer Batewho would become his partner and his main motivator in resuming the sport.

“I met someone who basically told me that I was an idiot, and that I should keep trying. I am very grateful for that”Marcus later confessed, in an interview with New York Times.

Willis was determined to leave behind his nickname of ‘Cartman’the obese character of the series South Parkwith which he was nicknamed after eliminating Tennys Sandgren (today 240th in the ATP) and celebrating by drinking a Coca Cola and eating a Snickers on the court. I weighed 116 kilos then.

He resumed tennis classes, which he began to teach at a small club in Birmingham, at the same time that he exercised and helped his bricklayer cousin with some works to raise money.

This is how it came to June, the date on which registrations for the Wimbledon pre-qualifications were opened. Marcus still had a ranking (772nd) and thought: “A Grand Slam? Why not”. He was second ‘lucky loser’ (alternate).

Marcus, a lucky man

Luck was on ‘Cartman’s’ side. When he was teaching one of his classes, he received a call from London: “One player was injured, and another did not sign. You are qualified for the pre-Wimbledon tournament!”.

Willis, literally, luckily got into the qualy of the qualy. And he won it, accessing the qualifiers for the British Grand Slam.

It seemed that the Englishman would return home soon, since in the first round the Japanese Yuichi Sugita (then 99th in the world) easily surpassed him. However, the local reversed the scenario and kept the game for 1-6, 6-4 y 6-1.

Marcus Willis durante Wimbledon 2016.

In the second phase, Marcus’s opponent was a promising 18-year-old Russian: Andrey Rublev, current 7th in the world ranking. But then the Briton’s left foot and good serve were fine-tuned, and he prevailed 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the final round.

There, another Russian crossed his path on his way to the Wimbledon main draw: Daniil Medvedev, who came to be 1st and is currently 3rd in the ranking.

In a five-set clash, the 772nd in the ranking rallied incredibly by 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 y 6-4 to settle among the 128 tennis players who would play Wimbledon 2016. The dream would not end there.

Marcus, don’t be a fool.

The first day of the contest, the name of Marcus Willis already appeared in all the sports media in the world. Few believed that a player, practically an amateur, was being the protagonist in the ‘Cathedral’ of tennis.

On June 27, the British jumped onto the grass of court 17 of the All England Club to face the Lithuanian Ricard Berankis (54th). The small court was packed, Jennifer was in the front row, and the slices and strong serves of the almost 100-kilo left-hander began to drive her rival crazy.

Against all odds -even from Marcus himself, who had scheduled classes for that week-, the 772nd in the ranking won 6-3, 6-3 and 6-4: He was in the second round of a Grand Slam!

“I have been told not to be stupid and to enjoy the opportunity. I was overweight, I wouldn’t stop drinking beers. I felt like a loser, but I looked in the mirror and thought: ‘I’m better than this’. I have worked very hard and it has been worth it”, acknowledged Willis, to the ATP website.

When they told him that the Swiss Roger Federerthe greatest winner in Wimbledon history, had overwhelmed the Argentine Guido Pella and would be his next opponent, the left-hander from Lough said “I think he is a little better than me.”

Marcus Willis vs Roger Federer

On June 29, on the center court of the All England Club, the man who had nothing faced the player who had won it all.

The first to jump on the track, wearing a shirt of the Helvetian brand, it was the English. Everyone laughed, but not at him, but with him: the umpire, at the time of the draw; the commentators, during the presentation; Roger, seeing his happiness; and himself, prey to his nerves.

The tension played a trick on ‘Cartman’, who quickly gave up his first serve. Federer played seriously and, in the third game, forced the Briton to star in the best point of the entire tournament.

Marcus tried to pass Federer with a lob, which was answered by the Swiss with a smash backwards. The local slipped on the return, but forced ‘His Majesty’ to run towards the net. Willis stood up and sealed the play with a perfect shot over his opponent. The entire center court – and probably all of England – rose to its feet..

Despite the effort of Lough’s lefty, Roger took the first set 6-0. Already in the second set, the 772nd in the world scared away the nerves and unleashed another ovation when he won his first gamebefore conceding 6-3.

‘His Majesty’ put an end to the British dream with a 6-4 victory in the third round. That did not prevent Willis from leaving under an endless ovation, which was joined by the Swiss himself who, for a reason, is one of the best in history.

“I was very intrigued with his story. He’s exactly what our sport needs, someone to come from nothing. It is a great moment for him and for me too, ”said the Helvetian after his victory.

“I wasn’t disciplined enough”

Marcus Willis returned to Birmingham with 58,700 euros in his pocket and in the 354th position of the ATPbut it ‘disappeared’ from the circuit again.

Later, he confessed to Daily Mail that “I think it would have cost me too much money over the next few years. Even if I accepted some sponsorship, if I had been at a good level, it would have taken me two years to be where I would have liked.

Roger Federer before facing Marcus Willis.

“I hate to think of how many British tennis players I have seen end up in normal jobs, when they could have gone much higher.. It is a very difficult sport and I know that there have been times when I have not been disciplined enough. It has been a nightmare to deal with it”, added ‘Cartman’, who for the aforementioned interview defined himself as a “fat ex”.

Marcus saw action in a couple of doubles tournaments, but never to the level he displayed at Wimbledon in 2016. He continued to teach tennis and work as a bricklayer with his cousin.

The last thing that was known publicly about him was that, in the preview of this year’s edition of the Grand Slam, he asked for tickets for the tribute that was made at the All England Club to the now retired Roger Federer. He didn’t get them.