WIMBLEDON, England — Roger Federer, tennis’s perennial sentimental favorite, will have to surrender that crown on Wednesday.
His opponent will be 772nd-ranked Marcus Willis, one of the most improbable men to play a second-round match at Wimbledon in many a full moon.
“I think it’s one of the best stories in a long time in our sport,” said Federer, who at 34 has been around long enough to know.
It was quite a Monday all around for rank outsiders as Iceland eliminated England to reach the quarterfinals of the European soccer championships. At least the English, who relish their underdogs (if perhaps not at the expense of their national honor), can take some small consolation from the 25-year-old Willis.