Marcus Willis is facing Roger Federer in the second round of Wimbledon. That probably doesn’t mean much to you. Some unknown player almost assuredly stomped by a tennis legend. It’s ho-hum at best. That is, until you learn a little something about Marcus Willis.
Roger Federer’s next opponent is a Snickers-eating party dude
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Marcus Willis is tennis’ John McClane and Wimbledon is his Die Hard. Seriously, he isn’t even supposed to be here today — yet he is. Years of grinding as a professional tennis player left the 25-year-old without much to show for it. $95,000 in career winnings, dreams left unfulfilled and the realization he should probably hang it all up, move to Philadelphia and become a tennis coach. But Willis’ girlfriend wouldn’t let him.
@Willbomb90 Years of thinking I'll never find my man...I did, stopped him from going to America, fell madly in love, now WIMBLEDON!!
— Jennifer Bate (@Jennyloubate) June 24, 2016
The phone rang at Willis’ parents’ house where he lives. He’s there trying to pay off credit card debt. Another player had dropped out after being unable to get to England in time to register, giving Willis the opportunity to enter the tournament. Wimbledon would be his swansong. A last-ditch effort to do something. Facing world No. 54, Ricardas Berankis the unthinkable happened. Willis won, in straight sets no less. Despite being ranked a full 718 spots lower than his competitor — Willis won.
You might think that’s just a neat thing. “Isn’t it nice the little guy got a shot?” But it’s far more than that. In winning that single match Willis’ potential winnings swelled from $300 to $67,724. All thanks to one game. His girlfriend got to watch it happen, but only because the suction broke down at her job where she works as a dental surgeon. Every single star aligned for this moment.
The thing that’s amazing about Willis is that he’s an every man. Something we rarely see in tennis. This isn’t some test-tube athlete incubated from birth to be a machine. He’s a dude who “likes to party,” took a break during a game to eat a Snickers bar and drink a soda. Heck, just a month ago his entire Twitter feed was him ranting about transportation — like we all do.
These aren’t cut together. This was his actual feed. From May. 6 until May. 20 every tweet was about being frustrated. Marcus Willis is all of us.
When he takes the court tomorrow you COULD root for the perfectly groomed, chiseled perfection of Roger Federer — or you could pick the guy who doesn’t have seven-figure endorsements and more titles than room to display them. You could root for the biggest underdog in the history of tennis just because you can, and you should.
