The underdog run of world No. 772 Marcus Willis at Wimbledon has not only taken the country by storm, but also grabbed the attention of the locker room.
The part-time teaching pro from Britain came through pre-qualifying and qualifying before defeating Ricardas Berankis in the first round to set up a meeting with Roger Federer on Wednesday.
Against Berankis, Willis played on a side court in front of a packed crowd that cheered him on loudly enough to be heard across the grounds.
"I think everyone in the crowd heard them, to be honest. I heard the big roar, I assume is when he won," said Laura Robson, a fellow Brit who was playing on another court at the same time as Willis.
Several players were also watching back in the locker room area, she said, including Federer. "Yeah, he was watching it in the warmup, as well," Robson said.
"It was good when he finished. That's probably the loudest I ever heard an outside court. I sort of knew every point he was winning," Great Britain's Dan Evans said. "He's not putting anything on when he's talking [on court]. That is him. He's just a bit of a joker, just enjoys himself. He's a really nice guy, one of my good friends."
Willis was on the front pages of British newspapers on Tuesday, with stories talking about him giving tennis lessons to 5-year-olds at his local club and how he almost decided to retire before making a comeback.
Even Federer has been caught up by Willis's run, and knows he might find himself in the unusual position of not being the crowd favorite in his next match.
"This is the kind of stories we need in our sport. I think it's a great, great story. I'm very excited to be playing him actually. It's not something that I get to do very often. I'm looking forward to that," Federer said. "People will hear about it. People will know about it. They will support him , rightfully so, because I think it's a very cool story myself. It's going to make the match difficult."
Previously Willis had a reputation on the challenger circuit for lacking concentration and training, according to another British player, Liam Broady, but he has showed a new level of commitment recently.
"I'd say we're mates, yeah," Broady said. "I think now he's more focused, maybe because of his girlfriend, and maybe something's clicked within him that he wants this now. I think he used to be, I don't think he'd mind me saying, a bit more of a social butterfly, whereas now he seems more switched on and single‑minded."
Willis is also among the tour's funniest players, Broady added.
"I think he has that reputation among pretty much all nationalities," he said. "Those Challengers I played him in the States, he was drinking Pepsi on the court, eating Snickers on the court. That's when he got the nickname Cartman. He lives up to it."
Another player who recalls seeing Willis on the ATP Challenger tour is Nick Kyrgios.
"I was playing a challenger in Nottingham. I didn't even know he was still playing tennis," the Australian said. "I saw him qualify. I always knew he was a talented guy. I mean, dreams do start here. It happened for me."
Even No. 4 seed Stanislas Wawrinka has taken notice of Willis.
"It's a great story for tennis, for him," the Swiss aid. "It's always something special when a guy 700 in the world play the pre-qualification tournament and qualify. I watch him yesterday a little bit playing on the TV. Was quite fun.
"It's a great story. It's going to be nice to see him play against Roger."
British No. 1 Andy Murray would like to see Willis make the most of the occasion on Centre Court against Federer.
"I mean, who would have thought a few weeks ago he'd be in this position," Murray said. "So to get the opportunity to play against Roger, he's arguably the best male player of all time currently on the court where he's had his most success. It's just amazing, an amazing opportunity for him."