Marcus Willis

British tennis player
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroBritish tennis player
PlacesUnited Kingdom Great Britain
isAthlete Tennis player
Work fieldSports
Gender
Male
Birth9 October 1990, Slough, Slough, Berkshire, United Kingdom
Age34 years
Star signLibra
Stats
Height:191 cm
Weight:91 kg
The details

Biography

Marcus Willis (born 9 October 1990) is a professional British tennis player. Willis made his tour debut at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships having qualified for the main draw.

Early and personal life

Willis began playing tennis at the age of 9. His mother is a learning support assistant and his father is an accountant. Willis attended St Paul's Primary School, Wokingham and The Forest School, Winnersh. Willis is in a relationship with Jennifer Bate, an NHS dental surgeon and former beauty queen. Their daughter, Martha May Willis, was born in March 2017. Willis teaches at Downe House an independent girls school.

Junior career

Before the 2008 Australian Open began, Willis was sent home by the LTA after he had ignored a final warning about his slack attitude. The last straw came when he arrived late to a practice session, having missed the bus and forgotten his rackets. Willis reached a high of No. 15 in the combined junior world rankings in September 2008.

Junior Slam results – Singles:

Australian Open: A (—)
French Open: 2R (2008)
Wimbledon: 3R (2007, 2008)
US Open: 2R (2008)

Junior Slam results – Doubles:

Australian Open: A (—)
French Open: 1R (2008)
Wimbledon: 2R (2007)
US Open: 2R (2008)

Senior career

2015

Willis won two Futures and reached the semifinals of four Futures events, becoming world no 348 in July. Managed & sponsored by A1 Pharmaceuticals from 2013-15 that lead to 7 futures singles titles during the sponsorship

2016: Wimbledon second round

The only success for Willis in the first five months of 2016 was qualifying for the Tunisia Futures F1 in January, and progressing to the quarterfinals, where he won $356.

His failure to defend the previous year's points led to his ranking falling to number 772 by the start of Wimbledon.

Willis won six matches to qualify for the main draw of the 2016 Wimbledon Championships. In the first round, Willis upset Ričardas Berankis, a player ranked more than 700 places above him, to set up a clash with seven-time champion Roger Federer. Willis was defeated by Federer 6–0, 6–3, 6–4 on Centre Court in the second round, receiving a standing ovation nevertheless.

The BBC held a vote for the best shot of the Wimbledon tournament, and the winner was Willis lobbing Roger Federer.

Injury prevented Willis from playing immediately after Wimbledon 2016, but he was given a wild card into qualifying for the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna over the weekend of October 22–23. He has also been invited to play Tie Break Tens at the same venue on Sunday 23 October, against Andy Murray, Dominic Thiem and Jo Wilfried Tsonga.

His second tournament after Wimbledon was a Future in Kuwait which he won.

2017: Wimbledon doubles third round

Willis didn't play too many tournaments in the first half of 2017 due to injuries and becoming a father to his first child (a girl) but played in the Great Britain F1, F2 and F3, reaching the second round, semi-finals and finals respectively, winning $2283 overall. He then reached the quarter-finals of the U.S.A. F15 but lost in the first round of the Spain F14. He then failed to qualify for the Challenger in Surbiton and then reached the second round of the Ilkley Challenger, losing to Sam Groth.

At the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, Willis lost in the final round of qualifying to Illya Marchenko in straight sets, although Willis had been hindered by a knee injury he suffered against fellow Brit Liam Broady in the previous round. Since he failed to defend his points from last years Wimbledon his ranking is projected to drop below 500 in the world.

In the Wimbledon doubles, he and partner Jay Clarke had been awarded a wild card for the main draw. In the opening round, they beat Jared Donaldson and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan after coming back from two sets to love. They caused a big surprise by defeating the defending champions and second seeds Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the next round, also in a five-setter. Their run ended with a loss to Oliver Marach and Mate Pavić in the third round.

2018

Willis missed Wimbledon in singles because he lost to Dan Evans in the pre-qualifying playoffs.

After Wimbledon, he played for the San Diego Aviators in the World TeamTennis league, where the team narrowly missed the WTT finals.

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 16 (9–7)

Finals by surface
Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (0–0)
ITF Futures Tour (9–7)
Finals by surface
Hard (7–7)
Clay (1–0)
Grass (1–0)
ATP Challenger Tour (0–0)
ITF Futures Tour (9–7)
Hard (7–7)
Clay (1–0)
Grass (1–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
LossOct 2008Great Britain F16, GlasgowFuturesHard (i) Dan Evans2–6, 1–3 ret.
WinJan 2013Great Britain F1, GlasgowFuturesHard (i) Josh Goodall6–4, 6–4
LossMar 2013Great Britain F6, ShrewsburyFuturesHard (i) Dan Evans6–7, 6–7
WinJul 2013Great Britain F14, FelixstoweFuturesGrass Neil Pauffley6–2, 6–4
LossAug 2013Great Britain F17, WrexhamFuturesHard Daniel Cox2–6, 3–6
LossSep 2013Kuwait F2, MishrefFuturesHard Ivo Klec6–3, 1–6, 4–6
WinOct 2013Kuwait F3, MishrefFuturesHard Tak Khunn Wang6–3, 6–2
LossMar 2014Thailand F3, NonthaburiFuturesHard Chung Hyeon2–6, 4–6
WinMar 2014Great Britain F8, TiptonFuturesHard (i) Sam Barry7–6, 6–4
WinMay 2014Great Britain F10, EdinburghFuturesClay Neil Pauffley6–1, 6–3
LossSep 2014Great Britain F15, LondonFuturesHard Frederik Nielsen6–2, 4–6, 4–6
WinSep 2014Spain F27, MadridFuturesHard Mick Lescure6–3, 6–2
WinMay 2015Spain F11, MóstolesFuturesHard Jorge Hernando-Ruano6–7, 6–3, 7–6
WinMay 2015Egypt F20, Sharm El SheikhFuturesHard Julien Dubail7–5, 6–7, 7–5
WinNov 2016Kuwait F3, MishrefFuturesHard Daniel Altmaier6–3, 7–6
LossFeb 2017Great Britain F3, ShrewsburyFuturesHard (i) Oscar Otte5–7, 6–7

Doubles: 47 (28–19)

Finals by surface
Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (0–1)
ITF Futures Tour (28–18)
Finals by surface
Hard (20–15)
Clay (5–3)
Grass (2–1)
Carpet (1–0)
ATP Challenger Tour (0–1)
ITF Futures Tour (28–18)
Hard (20–15)
Clay (5–3)
Grass (2–1)
Carpet (1–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
LossFeb 2009France F2, FeucherollesFuturesHard (i) Dan Evans Olivier Charroin
Nicolas Tourte
3–6, 4–6
WinMay 2009Great Britain F6, EdinburghFuturesClay Daniel Smethurst Richard Gabb
Ashley Hewitt
6–7, 6–3, [14–12]
LossJul 2009Great Britain F9, FrintonFuturesGrass Neil Pauffley Tristan Farron-Mahon
Colin O'Brien
7–6, 6–7, [6–10]
LossAug 2009Belgium F2, KoksijdeFuturesClay Alexander Ward Rabie Chaki
Frederic De Fays
3–6, 2–6
WinSep 2009Italy F28, Porto TorresFuturesHard Vasek Pospisil Alessandro Giannessi
Francesco Piccari
4–6, 6–3, [10–8]
LossSep 2009Italy F29, AlgheroFuturesHard Vasek Pospisil Federico Gaio
Alessandro Giannessi
2–6, 5–7
LossMay 2010Great Britain F6, EdinburghFuturesClay Barry King James Cluskey
Colin O'Brien
3–6, 3–6
LossMay 2010Great Britain F7, NewcastleFuturesClay Maniel Bains Ignacio Coll Riudavets
Gerard Granollers
1–6, 4–6
LossSep 2010Great Britain F14, NottinghamFuturesHard Sean Thornley Lewis Burton
Dan Evans
5–7, 6–1, [11–13]
WinOct 2010Greece F3, HeraklionFuturesCarpet Daniel Glancy Sam Barry
Colin O'Brien
7–5, 5–7, [10–8]
LossMar 2011Great Britain F3, TiptonFuturesHard (i) Miles Bugby Chris Eaton
Josh Goodall
2–6, 2–6
WinSep 2011Great Britain F14, RoehamptonFuturesHard Josh Goodall Lewis Burton
James Marsalek
6–3, 5–7, [10–5]
WinSep 2011Great Britain F15, NottinghamFuturesHard Josh Goodall David Rice
Sean Thornley
6–4, 7–6
WinJul 2012Great Britain F9, ManchesterFuturesGrass Josh Goodall Tom Burn
Dan Evans
6–2, 7–6
WinMay 2013Great Britain F10, EdinburghFuturesClay Matthew Short Richard Gabb
Jonny O'Mara
4–6, 6–4, [10–8]
WinAug 2013Great Britain F17, WrexhamFuturesHard George Coupland Liam Broady
Joshua Ward-Hibbert
7–6, 6–3
WinSep 2013Great Britain F18, SheffieldFuturesHard Lewis Burton Richard Bloomfield
Daniel Cox
6–1, 6–1
WinSep 2013Great Britain F19, RoehamptonFuturesHard Lewis Burton Edward Corrie
Joshua Ward-Hibbert
4–6, 6–4, [10–8]
WinSep 2013Kuwait F1, MishrefFuturesHard Lewis Burton Patrick Davidson
Saketh Myneni
6–4, 7–5
LossSep 2013Kuwait F2, MishrefFuturesHard Lewis Burton Ruan Roelofse
Tak Khunn Wang
6–4, 3–6, [6–10]
WinOct 2013Kuwait F3, MishrefFuturesHard Lewis Burton Thomas Statzberger
Tristan-Samuel Weissborn
6–2, 6–2
WinOct 2013Great Britain F22, TiptonFuturesHard (i) Lewis Burton Graeme Dyce
Calum Gee
7–6, 6–2
WinNov 2013Greece F20, RethymnoFuturesHard Lewis Burton Nikola Čačić
Alexandros Jakupovic
6–4, 7–6
WinJan 2014Israel F1, EilatFuturesHard Lewis Burton Shonigmatjon Shofayziyev
Anton Zaitcev
6–3, 6–4
LossJan 2014Israel F2, EilatFuturesHard Lewis Burton Huang Liang-chi
Amir Weintraub
3–6, 6–7
WinJan 2014Israel F3, EilatFuturesHard Lewis Burton Claudio Grassi
Amir Weintraub
6–3, 7–5
LossFeb 2014Thailand F1, NonthaburiFuturesHard Lewis Burton Yuichi Ito
Hiroki Kondo
6–3, 3–6, [8–10]
LossFeb 2014Thailand F2, NonthaburiFuturesHard Lewis Burton Chung Hyeon
Nam Ji-sung
4–6, 7–6, [7–10]
WinMar 2014Thailand F3, NonthaburiFuturesHard Lewis Burton Chung Hyeon
Nam Ji-sung
6–3, 7–5
WinMar 2014Great Britain F8, TiptonFuturesHard (i) Lewis Burton David Rice
Sean Thornley
4–6, 7–6, [10–6]
WinApr 2014Great Britain F9, BournemouthFuturesClay Lewis Burton Jake Eames
Brydan Klein
6–1, 7–5
WinMay 2014Great Britain F10, EdinburghFuturesClay Jonny O'Mara Maverick Banes
Gavin van Peperzeel
7–6, 6–1
WinMay 2014Great Britain F11, NewcastleFuturesClay Jonny O'Mara Maverick Banes
Gavin van Peperzeel
7–6, 6–1
LossAug 2014Spain F24, PozoblancoFuturesHard Lewis Burton Edward Corrie
David Rice
4–6, 5–7
LossNov 2014Charlottesville, United StatesChallengerHard (i) Lewis Burton Treat Huey
Frederik Nielsen
6–3, 3–6, [2–10]
WinJan 2015Great Britain F2, SunderlandFuturesHard (i) Lewis Burton Isak Arvidsson
Micke Kontinen
6–3, 6–2
LossMar 2015Great Britain F5, ShrewsburyFuturesHard (i) Sean Thornley Luke Bambridge
Scott Clayton
6–7, 4–6
LossMay 2015Spain F11, MóstolesFuturesHard José Checa-Calvo Juan-Samuel Arauzo
Ivan Arenas-Gualda
3–6, 7–5, [5–10]
WinMay 2015Egypt F19, Sharm El SheikhFuturesHard Daniel Smethurst Karim-Mohamed Maamoun
Issam Haitham Taweel
6–4, 6–4
WinMay 2015Egypt F20, Sharm El SheikhFuturesHard Daniel Smethurst Karim Hossam
Issam Haitham Taweel
6–1, 6–3
WinJul 2015Great Britain F6, FrintonFuturesGrass Daniel Smethurst Evan Hoyt
Bradley Mousley
6–4, 6–4
LossSep 2015Sweden F4, FalunFuturesHard (i) James Marsalek David O'Hare
Joe Salisbury
3–6, 5–7
WinNov 2016Kuwait F3, MishrefFuturesHard Daniel Altmaier Roy Sarut De Valk
Ronan Joncour
6–1, 6–1
LossFeb 2017Great Britain F3, ShrewsburyFuturesHard (i) Jack Molloy Scott Clayton
Luke Johnson
6–3, 4–6, [6–10]
WinAug 2017Portugal F17, SintraFuturesHard Edward Corrie Yanais Laurent
Maxime Tchoutakian
6–1, 6–4
LossFeb 2018Great Britain F1, GlasgowFuturesHard (i) Neil Pauffley Matthias Haim
Jakob Sude
3–6, 7–6, [6–10]
WinFeb 2018Great Britain F3, ShrewsburyFuturesHard (i) Scott Clayton Harri Heliövaara
Frederik Nielsen
6–2, 7–5

Performance timelines

Singles

Tournament20082009201020112012201320142015201620172018W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
WimbledonAQ2AAAAQ1A2RQ3A1–1
Career statistics
Overall Win–Loss0–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–01–10–00–01–1
Year-end ranking965606609729962350365474441598

Doubles

Tournament2008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
WimbledonQ1Q1Q1AAAQ1AA3RQ1ANH2–1
Career statistics
Overall Win–Loss0–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–02–10–00–00–02–1
Year-end ranking3784896178983252514321052230750

Wins over top 10 players

Doubles

#PartnerOpponentsRankTournamentSurfaceRdScoreWillis
Rank
2017
1. Jay Clarke Nicolas Mahut
Pierre-Hugues Herbert
4
7
Wimbledon, London, United KingdomGrass2R3–6, 6–1, 7–6, 5–7, 6–3708
The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article on 31 Jul 2020. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.