British player posts agonising message as his Australian Open dream dies
Marcus Willis told Tennis365 that his big dream was to play in all four Grand Slam tournaments in 2025 – and he came so close to completing the first of those ambitions at the Australian Open.
Willis’ journey up the ATP doubles rankings has been a compelling story over the last three years, with his break back into the top 100 last year ensuring he achieved one of his first big targets.
Now he was aiming for more in the new year, with former British No 1 Cameron Norrie signing up to be his partner at at the Australian Open.
Yet after Norrie crashed out of the singles in the first round in Melbourne, he then withdrew from the doubles with Willis, much to the despair of the 34-year-old, who knows he is running out of chances to play in Grand Slam tournaments.
“Unfortunately Cam withdrew due to illness. So no Australian open,” read the post from Willis on is social media platform.
“This one hurts, no hiding from that. However, the only way around it is through it.
“I’m Proud of the habits built to get here, and it’s not the hope that kills you, it’s the lack of it.
“We go again. Always.”
It is a heartbreaking turn of events for Willis, who would have been guaranteed $20,000 AU dollars just for appearing in the first round and just over $400,000 AU dollars if he had gone all the way to the title with Norrie.
His ranking points could also have been given a huge boost with a strong run in Melbourne and that could have allowed him to play in higher-profile tournaments in the coming months.
Yet Willis has shown he can bounce back from adversity and now he will look to do so again.
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When Willis spoke to Tennis365 on the broadcast balcony at Wimbledon last summer, he looked back over his tennis story and admitted his lack of professionalism in his formative days cost him a chance to achieve more in the sport.
“If I knew then what I know now about tennis, I would do things very differently,” began Willis.
“One of the challenges for me at the start was I didn’t have a team of people around me who I could trust and who could guide me.
“I had quite a sheltered upbringing, it was all about tennis. Then I get to 19 and I am by myself trying to navigate a career in this sport.
“I gravitated towards a certain type of character at tournaments. Maybe I went out too much. It was nothing too extreme, but I was doing the wrong things off court.
“I was training hard on court, but I was out of shape because I wasn’t eating the right things and wasn’t sleeping enough. I was drinking too much. I was young and carefree, I suppose. ”
Willis clearly regrets some of his decisions in his formative days on the tennis tour, as he suggests all the successful players have a support network that gives them a platform to shine.
“You look at the people who succeed in this sport and they have a solid team around them from the start, including family members,” he added.
“You need someone to guide you like a parent if they are not there.
“Look at someone like Andy Murray. He is unbelievably talented, but he has always had great people around him. Novak Djokovic is the same.
“They have had the same people around for a long time and that has helped their careers. All the top guys have people around they can trust and I lacked that at the start of my career.”
If he lacked dedication in the first chapter of his career, Willis has proved he is willing to push the boundaries to continue his story in the sport.
With his world ranking currently at No 95, he will aim to get that up towards the top 50 at some point in 2025 and having come this far in his doubles journey, Willis will not let his story end here.
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