Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic won their respective Wimbledon 2016 first round matches, but it was world number 772 Marcus Willis, who bagged headlines with his stunning display on Monday. The British player stormed into the second round of the competition, defeating 54th ranked player, Ricardas Berankis in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
This seems to be a miracle for a player, who was making plans to move to the US and become a tennis coach. Willis is in dreamland, as after a great qualifiers, which saw him reach the main draw of Wimbledon, he will now face the seven-time champion Federer in the second round. In fact, the Brit was a late addition in the qualifiers, which shows that sometimes things are just meant to be.
Willis is excited over getting the chance to play against Federer, and more importantly in one of the main courts.
There seems to a sense of calmness and confidence in WIllis, the way he joked around when asked about the Swiss ace.
"I'm not sure he can play on grass," Wimbledon's official website quoted him as saying with a smile. "That's good. Obviously it's an amazing dream come true. I get to play on a stadium court.
"This is what I dreamed of when I was younger. I'm going to go out there and try to win the tennis match. I probably won't. I might not. But I'm going to give everything, as I have the last seven matches."
Irrespective of the result, one thing is for sure. Though Federer is always a crowd favourite, the underdog Brit will receive immense support.
"I've always wanted to play at Wimbledon. I just never thought it would happen. Sort of two, three, four years ago, it was looking very unlikely. Now I'm here. I'm going to enjoy every minute and try and do it on a regular basis. It's gotten out of hand. A little bit out of hand. I'm enjoying it. Keep it rolling."
Willis head earned just £258 worth of prize money this season, but Wimbledon has changed all that, as he is set to earn at least £50,000 thanks to his second round entry.
