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Federer Will Long Remember His Wimbledon Match With Willis
Roger Federer has played more matches on Wimbledon’s Centre Court than any other male contestant this century but the seven times champion admits his encounter with 772nd ranked Marcus Willis is one that will stick in the memory more than most.
The score line of 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 showed a straightforward victory for third seeded Federer, beating the British player who won through both pre-qualifying and qualifying rounds before overcoming 54th ranked Ricardas Berankis in the first round proper.
However those numbers don’t even begin to tell the story of the most surreal one hour and 25 minutes under the All England Club’s closed roof. “I was thinking, this is definitely one of the matches I’ll remember,” said Federer, who allowed Willis the honor of leading the walk on to the famed playing surface and left the scene long before his beaten opponent.
“Of all the Centre Court matches I have played at Wimbledon, this is one of them that will stand out because it’s that special and probably not going to happen again.”
Willis, who was still sufficiently anonymous to travel to Wimbledon yesterday morning on the London Underground, was wearing a year-old shirt that he actually bought, ironically emblazoned with Federer’s personalized logo of RF.
And Federer joined the optimism that there is a tennis future ahead for 25 year-old Willis despite the fact he squandered a promising junior career because he didn’t try hard enough and liked to party too much. He was sent home in disgrace by the British Lawn Tennis Association from the 2008 Australian Open after repeated warnings and turning up for a practice session without any rackets.
“What I like about his game is he reads it well,” said Federer. “He knows when you’re coming in. He can slice easily and chip really well. He has a nice serve and I struggled reading it. I believe he can make big strides.”
Willis admitted he touched by Federer’s comments, saying: “He was a true gent today, as he always is. He was very kind and I have got things to work on but it was a start, a good start. Now I’ve got to work from here.
“I want to be here. This is where I want to play and I want to be a top 100 tennis player. I think I’m good enough but now I’ve got to keep working hard as I have been doing. “I did enjoy myself even though I was getting duffed up. I loved every bit of it.”
Topics: 10sballs.com, ATP London, Grass tennis, Marcus Willis, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis News, The Championships, Wimbledon 2016
RT @10sBalls_com: -@rogerfederer Has A Great Time Playing @Willbomb90 On Center Court At #Wimbledon
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