Wimbledon: Marcus Willis' smile lights up Centre Court but he must build on brush with Roger Federer

World No 772 needs to keep up hard work if he wants more moments in the sun

Marcus Willis’ moment in the sun – or under the drizzle-covered Centre Court roof more accurately - came to a crashing end here on Wednesday when he was handed what he spends the majority of his time giving: a tennis lesson.

Roger Federer, of course, was too good winning 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 in just one hour, 24 minutes – there is a tiny 769-place gap in their world rankings, after all, and it was brutally exposed by the Swiss seven-time winner. For Willis, 25, it’s back to the day-job of coaching at Warwick Boat Club – anyone from the “carnage” of the five-to 10-year-old Mini Reds to 70-year-old gents to ladies doubles teams – but such has been the stir the Briton has caused during the first three days of Wimbledon it is to be hoped he has now got a taste of centre stage.

He certainly has the potential to grace it again – he showed some lovely touches, a full tennis arsenal from delicious drop-shots, neat, deft volleys, lazy lobs to his swinging lefty serve and a sliced backhand that almost crawled across the turf. He won some lovely rallies, lost some and of course, was out-cuted by Federer on many occasions. But Willis did it all with a smile on his face wider than the rankings gap that lit up Centre Court on a dreadfully grey Wimbledon day.

Seven-time champion Roger Federer on Centre Court? Overawed? Not a bit of it. He raised his arms to the crowd when he served an ace in the warm up, geed them up with whirling arms when he took his first point and even had the audacity to lob Federer on a couple of occasions. Federer punished one such shot with a crunching ace as if to say how dare you? Willis played to the gallery when he took his first game after 31 minutes at the start of the second set having lost the first to love when nerves played a part.

Marcus Willis rues a close miss during defeat to Roger Federer (Getty)

He fist-pumped towards that famous section above the scoreboard where his family sat, his mum up and down like a jack in the box, his girlfriend cheering him on. He blew kisses to his small posse of fans and burst out laughing when another friend in the crowd shouted something that caught his attention.

Yes, on Wednesday he was a “loser”, the term he had used to describe himself from yesteryear when he was tucking into the pies and pints, but he won many a heart on Centre Court.

Wimbledon loves a hero but for Willis to be more than a fleeting speck in SW19 history, there is much more hard work to do to make the most of his undoubted talent. Gone are the Snickers-eating, Pepsi-chugging (on court) days of old but the fitness could still be better no matter how much he has improved it under his coach Matt Smith. Being a plucky lovable loser may be fun on a cheering Centre Court against Federer with mum, dad, girlfriend et al cheering you on – it isn’t on the poorly paid Futures Tour where he has often ploughed a lonely furrow.

At least for tea on Wednesday night he could try a change from the tomato, pepper and pasta dish he has superstitiously been sticking to, but as long as it’s not back to the pies there’s hope.

Marcus Willis enjoyed his Centre Court debut on Wednesday (Getty)

The wages may be an added incentive too given that he earns £30 per hour coaching in Warwick. After beating the top-50 ranked Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis on Monday his season earnings now add up to £50,263 (the £50,000 having been earned here).

It has been a frenzy of sudden attention for Willis, who came through the qualifiers to reach Wimbledon, his girlfriend Jennifer Bate and his posse of fans. Bate, who was only able to turn up on Monday to watch his victory because the suction pump sucked at the dentists she works at, found herself doing TV interviews aplenty at a soggy Wimbledon on Wednesday, being snapped by photographers and fans. Sudden fame indeed.

So too for his army of fans from Loughborough University who added a splash of colour to the canvas Willis was painting on Monday with their shoe-waving and their songs. Wimbledon’s latest Crazy Gang although they were more becalmed in Centre Court. They camped in Wimbledon Park on Monday night and queued all day Tuesday to get those tickets after all.

Marcus Willis laps up the applause (Getty)

“We know him from training with him at Loughborouh Uni,” Tom Haslam, a member of the Willisettes, told The Independent. “We became mates through that. He’s just a great guy.” And their sudden fame? “We didn’t really mean for this to kind of happen,” he added. “It’s all very impromptu. It’s just a bit of fun. Hopefully it brings a few smiles to a few faces.”

Gavin McKinlay: agreed: “All the media interest around is crazy,” he said. “I don’t even know how that’s happened. We love it. This is all just a bit of a laugh for us.”

It seemed like a bit of a laugh for Willis too. Let’s hope he’s back next year in a position to take it all a tad more seriously.