LONDON—Roger Federer's second-round match against world No. 772 Marcus Willis was fairly straightforward, but their walk onto court involved a lot more back and forth.
Willis came on to Centre Court first, getting a standing ovation from much of the crowd. That was no coincidence, with Federer describing the scene before they emerged.
"It starts all the way in the back where you walk from the locker room," said Federer. "He was already waiting when I came. When I came, he went to the toilet, so then I was there first. Then I wasn't sure if he wanted to go first or second."
Federer asked Willis when he got back. "I had to wait for him. I don't know if he wanted me to go first. I said, 'You have the choice. I don't know what you want to do,' he said.
"I guess whoever goes first from that moment on goes also first on court. I wanted the cooler experience for him. I don't know what the cooler experience was, if it's walking ahead of me or behind me, going out first on Centre Court or not."
Federer was glad it turned out the way it did. "I thought it was cool that he got out first because it's his moment, in my opinion,” he said. “I wanted him to have a great time."
Willis works as a teaching pro, and came through both pre-qualifying and qualifying before getting his first tour win in the first round.
Once on court, however, it was Federer who took the lead, winning the first seven games in a straight-sets win. But it was Willis who received most of the applause, getting another standing ovation from some spectators upon winning his first game and getting the crowd to its feet again as the players shook hands.
It was also Willis who walked up to acknowledge the crowd following the match, something usually done by the winner.
While Federer was not the center of attention on this occasion, it was still memorable for him. "Well, as I was playing, I was thinking about the match,” he said. “I was thinking, This is definitely one of the matches I'll remember.”