Wimbledon 2016: Roger Federer ends Marcus Willis’s dramatic run at Wimbledon

“It sounds amusing, but I’m disappointed to lose. He knows when you’re coming in”, said Federer.

During the warmup, he was so nervous he shanked every ball – but burst out laughing – and after seven games – got himself on the board against the legendary Swiss.

“It was very different to what I am used to”. I spoke to him yesterday but it was like speaking to a brick wall. It would be stupid to say it’s not a special occasion to play him. I settled into the match and I was enjoying it out there. “It’s just wonderful, an unbelievable opportunity for him”. “He’s class, put me under the cosh and came out firing”, he said.

And he won’t be seeking advice on playing Federer from his mate. “It was a bit more solid underfoot, which helped me”.

But the reality of the task soon became clear as Federer reeled off the first seven games.

Hollywood: Having never played a tour match before Wimbledon, the sturdily-built left-hander, dubbed “Cartman” after a portly character from cartoon series South Park, was facing a man who has won 79 matches more than him at the All England Club.

Evans produced one of the finest performances of his career to beat 30th seed Alexandr Dolgopolov on Thursday and his reward is a meeting with Federer in the third round.

Not since playing Murray in the Olympic gold medal match in 2012 can Federer have played in a match where he received so little of the Centre Court support.

Evans, who reached the U.S. Open third round as a qualifier in 2013, was again the more clinical in the second set, staying aggressive and taking it on his first set point with a deft stop volley that left the Ukrainian floundering.

He earned an appreciative clap of the racket from Federer after winning the opening game of the third set with a brilliant forehand victor but then lost five games in a row and, shortly afterwards, the match.

“I’m going to do that, it just confirmed everything”. B ut it’s a learning curve, isn’t it? He’s a level above me.

“I’m pretty proud of what I’ve done”. Hopefully there are juniors out there thinking, “That could be me”. Obviously, Roger’s the greatest player of all time. The two are in the same half of the draw this year and could meet in the semifinals. Should be inspiration for a lot of people. I loved getting stuck in, fighting hard.

And despite struggling to sleep overnight as he replayed the contest in his head, Willis promised Warwick Boat Club team-mate Gavin Henderson he would line up in a Coventry League match barely 24 hours after embarking on the showdown of his life.

The chances that Willis would play in this year’s Wimbledon were close to zero, too.

“I get messages saying, Thanks so much, I believe in myself now”. People got behind me. That’s how I felt.