Marcus Willis writing story to rival his Wimbledon exploits in US Open doubles

From HELLO! Magazine to a US Open debut aged 34, the tennis career of Marcus Willis is unlike any other.

It is now nine years since Willis became a Wimbledon sensation by winning seven matches to earn a shot at Roger Federer on Centre Court.

Willis was the perfect British underdog story – a talented but wayward junior who had all but given up on the sport only to re-emerge on the biggest stage of all.

He remembers every moment of the run, from the three British players he beat in pre-qualifying, defeating Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev in qualifying and then the first-round victory over Ricardas Berankis played in a football-style atmosphere that earned him his date with Federer.

“I got smoked,” he says with a smile while sitting in a corner of the press room at Flushing Meadows.

“Playing on Centre Court was incredible. Unfortunately you don’t play very many winnable matches on Centre Court.”

Tennis moves on quickly but, nearly a decade after his exploits, Willis still meets people who remember.

“Less so now,” he says. “But you get some mad tennis fans who go, ‘I was there’, or, ‘I remember. How long ago was that?’. Over nine years now.

“Life’s moved pretty quick. Obviously that happened, now I’m married, four kids, retired, come back. Here in New York. It’s all quite a lot to take in. I remember the feeling of being at Wimbledon when I played that time like it was yesterday, and it really wasn’t.”

His engagement and wedding to wife Jenny as well as the news they were expecting their first child together were all featured in HELLO! – surely a first for a player who has never been ranked in the world’s top 300 in singles.

Dreams of a late-blooming singles career after that Wimbledon run never materialised and four years later Willis was retired and coaching kids at his local club.

The last time Willis played at the US Open was nearly 20 years ago as a junior but, knowing he would be close to making the draw on ranking, he travelled to New York.

Initially, it appeared he and Polish partner Karol Drzewiecki would miss out but they found out the night before their opening match that a pair had withdrawn and they seized their opportunity, beating Australian 16th seeds Matt Ebden and Jordan Thompson.

And they have not stopped there, with a look of disbelief written on Willis’ face after he and Drzewiecki saved three match points in a deciding tie-break against Australia’s John Peers and American Jackson Withrow to reach the third round.

“It just shows, if you stick at it, things like this happen,” said Willis, who had to change his flight home having initially only booked to stay until Sunday night.

“It’s magical, it really is. It’s just more evidence for me to stick at it. Because I love being here, it’s new experiences for me the whole time.”

Staying in shape has always been a challenge – Willis weighed more than 18 stone at one stage and earned the nickname Cartman after the TV character from South Park when he was filmed at a second-tier Challenger event eating a Snickers bar and drinking cola.

Now almost four stone lighter, Willis adds: “I’m getting there, I’ve got a few more to lose. It’s difficult. Food around the house, I’m horrendous with it.”

This is the first time he has played a senior grand slam outside of Wimbledon and making an Australian Open debut in January is top of his wish list.

He was in the draw this year only for his partner Cameron Norrie to pull out, a blow that stung because he had hoped to right a wrong having been sent home from Melbourne as a junior for indiscipline.

“That was really tough to take,” he says. “I was really excited to play and that hit me hard actually.

“I’d love to play there. Just to write that off. So that’s a goal, but I very much take things 24 hours at a time. What will be, will be. I’ve got a great life, a great career.”