Willis hopes to write another Wimbledon fairytale

LONDON - Marcus Willis, who briefly captured headlines at Wimbledon last year, is hoping to obtain a wild card for this year's tournament.

Last summer the 26-year-old Englishman made a mockery of his No 772 world ranking to come through qualifying and set up a second-round meeting with Swiss master Roger Federer - which he lost in straight sets.

Willis, since married to girlfriend Jenny, who convinced him to carry on plugging away with tennis, resulting in his fairytale moment at Wimbledon - said he thoroughly enjoyed himself on the big stage, despite the loss to Federer.

"It felt like I was on court for about five minutes," he said of his unlikely appearance on Centre Court.

"Time flies when you're having fun - or being beaten up. It's crazy, the more I think about it."

Willis said he hopes Wimbledon organizers recall the media attention he garnered last year when they name the wild card invitees on June 20.

"I'm not confident ... but hopeful," he said. "I'd really appreciate that. It was a big story last year, the media attention is going to be big, so they might give me one.

"I genuinely think I can win some matches. It would bring back some memories, which would be sweet."

Willis, who but for a player withdrawing from the pre-qualifying tournament wouldn't have got his chance, said he had not held high hopes of even reaching the qualifying tournament.

But three victories earned him a wild card into qualifying, where he overcame Yuichi Sugita, Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev - all ranked hundreds of places higher.

"I wasn't expecting anything because I hadn't hit a ball on grass," recalled Willis, whose exploits resulted in his wedding being featured in a British society magazine.

"I was hoping to pre-qualify, but I had a tough draw there as well so I did really well to get through that. Each match was just a bonus, it was awesome.

"I didn't think I was going to win my last round of qualifying. I had a horrible draw, so I was just pleasantly surprised every time I won.

"Once I qualified and I came off that court and there were 200 people with microphones, that's when I realized, 'Oh, I've done something here'."

Willis' story went far and wide, and for his first-round match against Ricardas Berankis on one of Wimbledon's smallest courts, spectators were hanging off railings to try to get a glimpse.

Berankis was utterly bewildered by the occasion and Willis' unorthodox game, and a straight-sets win earned the then British No 23 his date with Federer.

Agence France - Presse