Roger Federer ends world No. 772’s miracle Wimbledon run in second round

Normally, Roger Federer is the crowd favorite every time he steps on Centre Court.

But that was not the case Wednesday at Wimbledon, as the 17-time Grand Slam winner faced off against a 25-year-old challenger who lives with his parents.

Marcus Willis, with a world ranking of 772, had inspired and shocked his way through the pre-qualifying and qualifying rounds and upset world No. 54 Ricardas Berankis to get a date with Federer.

Federer won the match 6-0, 6-3, 6-4, but Willis’ incredible story captured the hearts of the crowd, who roared for him at every point.

“I thought Marcus brought some unbelievable energy to the court,” Federer said after the match. “It was very refreshing to play an opponent like this and he played some great shot-making. I always knew it would be a completely different match – for him it’s the first time, it’s like when I walked on against Pete [Sampras] in 2001, you have nothing to lose. I had the pressure on my shoulders, even though I thought it was a pressure-free tournament.”

Far removed from the days of enjoying a soda and a Snickers mid-match, Willis took the court wearing a Federer-branded shirt and could not stop smiling during warm-up as he took in the electric atmosphere and his raucous cheering section.

Though Federer served up a bagel in the first set, Willis kept the fans entertained with some tricky backhand winners. One such shot even earned Willis applause from his distinguished opponent.

It took until the second game of the second set for Willis to get on the board, but when he did, the 15,000 fans all rose to their feet.

But Federer was in no mood to let Willis continue the fairy tale. He played a strong, clean match and looked to be getting closer to the form that won him seven Wimbledon titles. Most impressive was Federer’s movement, as he’s spent much of 2016 sidelined with injury.

Willis found himself in a groove in the third set and took a 4-3 lead, but Federer then turned up he heat, determined to move onto the third round.

After Federer served out the match, he quickly ran off the court and into the locker room. But his unlikely challenger was in no mood to rush, and circled the stadium, soaking in Centre Court experience for what he hopes won’t be the last time.