Marcus Willis, the 26-year-old British tennis player who made a surprise run through last year’s Wimbledon qualifying but lost to Roger Federer in the tournament’s main draw—and is probably best known for drinking soda and noshing on a candy bar during a match—is one win away from making the main draw at Wimbledon again.
The world No. 374—who briefly quit tennis last year and once called himself an “overweight loser”—beat Liam Broady 7-6(2), 6-7(2), 6-2 today to set up one last qualifying match against Illya Marchenko for a spot at Wimbledon.
Since last year’s success, Willis has been busy: He got married in November to his girlfriend who convinced him to stick with the sport last year, and became a father in March.
Willis hasn’t played any ATP tour-level matches or grand slams so far this year—only challenger- and futures-level matches—but he’s hoping to change that tomorrow with a win over Marchenko.