Speaker 1: So if he's got some good hands and feel, this
Speaker 1: is too good.
Speaker 2: It's not just the flat that he's one, it's the
Speaker 2: way he's played the match.
Speaker 1: He has a candy bar and an RC coke. You
Speaker 1: aren't kidding me. Come on, Mark, and this is unbelievable.
Speaker 2: He might have caught some unbelievble energy to the court
Speaker 2: with the fans and then with his player as well,
Speaker 2: and with his personality. So it was very, very refreshing
Speaker 2: to play against an appoint like.
Speaker 3: This, you know who draws in the crowds and come
Speaker 3: with some.
Speaker 1: Great shop making. I'm not sure he can playing grass.
Speaker 1: That's that's good.
Speaker 2: This is our countdown to Wimwoden and we're going to
Speaker 2: be here daily because nine years after capturing the nation's heart,
Speaker 2: Marcus Willis is to play Wimweden once more. Now, just
Speaker 2: as a little pre announcement, we can't promise the best
Speaker 2: of all quality because Marcus is in hotels, traveling. I'm
Speaker 2: running a tennis coaching business. I've just asked the stringer
Speaker 2: in the office with me to go for a cup
Speaker 2: of tea. But what we want to do is over
Speaker 2: the next week we want to do a countdown to
Speaker 2: the first match and then fingers crossed beyond. So the
Speaker 2: goal of this podcast is really to open the door
Speaker 2: and get behind the scenes and one of Britain's best
Speaker 2: doubles players as you prepare for Wimbled and so Marcus,
Speaker 2: how are you mate?
Speaker 1: I'm very well, thank you.
Speaker 3: Just got back from Eastbourne yesterday and Woman and Prepper
Speaker 3: is beginning as of today. So yeah, I'm doing quite well.
Speaker 3: Busy time of year, but very happy to be partaking
Speaker 3: in the grass court event.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I mean it grasses your surface, right, I
Speaker 2: like it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it feels you know, when you first step out
Speaker 3: into the grass, it feels like home. You know that
Speaker 3: now feels nice and soft under your feet.
Speaker 2: We're only doing like a quick update day by day,
Speaker 2: but I've got some great stories that I want to
Speaker 2: share with everyone about you. But I've got one from
Speaker 2: last year's Wimbledon as well that I want to share.
Speaker 2: So I'm just I'm writing it down to make sure
Speaker 2: that I don't forget it. Tennis Tennis wise, what's been
Speaker 2: happening over the last.
Speaker 1: Year's been cracking on.
Speaker 3: I'm kind of very similar in ranking to where I
Speaker 3: was last year. It's been playing playing a lot, lots
Speaker 3: of different partners, you know, not all good, you know,
Speaker 3: as I'm as I'm sure you're aware.
Speaker 1: I went out to Australia and cam Nurray.
Speaker 3: Had to pull out there, so you know, that was
Speaker 3: kind of four weeks where I couldn't really play tennis.
Speaker 3: So I lost a few points there and it's just
Speaker 3: about trying to find my game and yeah it sounds
Speaker 3: really boring, but just been cracking on and trying to
Speaker 3: play and it sort of came good April time went
Speaker 3: out to Mexico, started finding my form again because I
Speaker 3: was rubbish for a little bit and I have no
Speaker 3: idea why, but yeah, I've started to started to play well.
Speaker 3: Last last you know, three tournaments have been positive. Obviously
Speaker 3: played Queen's Eastbourne and lost a couple of you know,
Speaker 3: tight match tyreks to top pairs in the world, so
Speaker 3: I'm obviously doing something right.
Speaker 1: But I want to be winning those matches. So Winburon
Speaker 1: is the next one.
Speaker 2: It was Murray and Ram yesterday, wasn't it down in Eastbourne?
Speaker 2: And ten eight in the champions tiebreak after a couple
Speaker 2: of tiebreaks.
Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, it was first set and not a lot
Speaker 1: of drama.
Speaker 3: Seconds that we were two love Love forty up and
Speaker 3: then really should have been you know, three love serving
Speaker 3: and then got broken back at five to four.
Speaker 1: Yes, it's one of those things.
Speaker 3: You know, I didn't I didn't make enough returns in
Speaker 3: the match Tyrek to personally, but you know we got
Speaker 3: we got two on their serve.
Speaker 1: And just didn't win enough on ours. It was annoying,
Speaker 1: you know.
Speaker 3: I look back to some of the decisions that I
Speaker 3: made and I'm like, maybe I should have it's always
Speaker 3: high in sight, but you know I went for a
Speaker 3: chip lub or maybe I should have hit it and
Speaker 3: then but had I hit it and missed it, I
Speaker 3: would have said, you should have gone.
Speaker 1: For a lot.
Speaker 3: But it's one of those It's it's quite a sore one.
Speaker 3: But obviously I'm playing some of the best doubles players
Speaker 3: in the world. You know, they're very experienced. Murray and
Speaker 3: Ram and one a few Grand slams between them.
Speaker 1: I'd say, yeah, just a bit.
Speaker 2: How do you find out about Winwood and wild Card?
Speaker 1: How do you find out? You either get a call
Speaker 1: or I found out Queen's so.
Speaker 3: So Leon came and told me that it had been
Speaker 3: approved by the or England Club that I was playing
Speaker 3: major doubles with Billy. But yeah, you always know who
Speaker 3: you're going to enter with. And then I think what
Speaker 3: happens is the LTA have a meeting with the Orlingland
Speaker 3: Cub and they have a list of recommendations and then
Speaker 3: make a decision based you know, on that. They can obviously,
Speaker 3: you know, give one cast to people that aren't record mended,
Speaker 3: but I think if your name's on that list, you've
Speaker 3: got a fairly good chance of getting one. So you know,
Speaker 3: I knew my name was going on that list a
Speaker 3: few weeks ago, but obviously you don't want to turn
Speaker 3: up and play terribly as well, because you know things
Speaker 3: can change last minute.
Speaker 2: So and how did you choose your partner?
Speaker 3: I know you speak, you speak to all the bricks
Speaker 3: are pretty connected, and it's a it's a difficult one, really,
Speaker 3: You've got to They set a criteria that's you know,
Speaker 3: pretty accurate.
Speaker 1: If you're top two fifty combined, you've got a good chance.
Speaker 1: And then.
Speaker 3: I know, you know, the last few years they favored
Speaker 3: you know, singles guys. And I'm good friends with Billy,
Speaker 3: so I spoke to him earlier in the year and said,
Speaker 3: if our rankings are in a good place, do you
Speaker 3: want to play the grass season together? And he said, yes,
Speaker 3: that's always been part of the plan. And yes, so
Speaker 3: I've known for a while if I was playing with
Speaker 3: Billy that was that was our choice.
Speaker 2: And this is Billy Harris, isn't it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Billy Harris. Yeah, I don't really know how to
Speaker 3: explain it. It's kind of Yeah. This year was was
Speaker 3: was really simple as a criteria. We were in good
Speaker 3: contact with everyone and we were kind of clear on
Speaker 3: what was going to happen, obviously, apart from you know,
Speaker 3: which wild cards they choose, But yeah, in previous years
Speaker 3: it's last year, it was quite last minute. I didn't
Speaker 3: know who was going to play Wimbled and where if
Speaker 3: I was going to play Wimbledon. And this year there's
Speaker 3: there's a couple more doubles guys in there as well.
Speaker 3: There's David Stevenson, Josh Paris as well, so that's nice
Speaker 3: to see that they're playing with singles guys as well.
Speaker 3: So there's just a lot of Brits obviously in the
Speaker 3: wild cards.
Speaker 2: And how's preparations going?
Speaker 1: Good? Good? Obviously I've played, Yeah, I played three grash
Speaker 1: events now played.
Speaker 3: Well, I'm looking to play Boodles this weekend, which is
Speaker 3: an exhibition event.
Speaker 1: Don't park.
Speaker 3: So that's you know, a couple more practice matches on
Speaker 3: the grass and then you know, I head to Wimbled
Speaker 3: and start preparations. But I'm feeling good, my body's all right.
Speaker 3: I'm looking after that. I'm seeing doing a lot more
Speaker 3: rehab and physio than I used to be doing just
Speaker 3: to feel normal.
Speaker 1: That's the old age, I think, isn't it.
Speaker 2: Well you're thirty four, aren't you.
Speaker 1: I'm thirty four, But yeah, I've done.
Speaker 3: Just notice I'm spending a lot of time stretching and
Speaker 3: getting familiar with physios, which is really important because I
Speaker 3: noticed if I don't do it, but sort of ten
Speaker 3: years ago, you see a physio if you're hurting, you
Speaker 3: still stretch and stuff, but you spend a lot more
Speaker 3: time sort of working out than recovering. And now it's
Speaker 3: i'd say fifty to fifty to be honest. So yeah,
Speaker 3: I'm doing all the right things.
Speaker 1: I think.
Speaker 3: Got to see a pada trest. Apparently I'm flat footed.
Speaker 3: That's why I walk a bit funny.
Speaker 2: I knew it was something.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, one of the reasons.
Speaker 3: But so I'm flat footed, so I've had a problem
Speaker 3: with my shin because and I can tell when it's hurting.
Speaker 3: I look at myself walking and I'm yeah, very much
Speaker 3: on my toes.
Speaker 2: So what's the What does your day look like today?
Speaker 2: We're a week away from you possibly playing. It could
Speaker 2: be eight days, it could be seven days. And as
Speaker 2: we speak on a daily basis, we'll catch up and
Speaker 2: obviously fill people in on that. And what's your training
Speaker 2: daylight today?
Speaker 3: Today, I'm just going to do bike. I'm not going
Speaker 3: to do any hitting obviously. I don't think I've had
Speaker 3: a day off hitting for quite a while. So I'm
Speaker 3: going to get on the peloton on the bike, do
Speaker 3: my stretching routine, and pack my bags later, might pick
Speaker 3: the kids up from school. I don't know if I've
Speaker 3: got time, but I'll try and do that. But yeah,
Speaker 3: it's more of a packing that I've packed this morning,
Speaker 3: sort of string and shoes and kit, all the boring stuff,
Speaker 3: and then yeah, I'll get on the bike, do my
Speaker 3: pliability routine, try and get an early night. I mean,
Speaker 3: I was up till two last night. I couldn't really sleep,
Speaker 3: just replaying shots in my head, which isn't very helpful,
Speaker 3: but there we go, try and get good night's sleep,
Speaker 3: and then tomorrow is Boodle's day.
Speaker 2: It's great, Well, we're going to catch up tomorrow at Boodles, right,
Speaker 2: exactly perfect. I can't wait for this. We get to
Speaker 2: speak every day as well. I know.
Speaker 1: It's lovely, isn't it.
Speaker 2: Normally we just text every day about when are we
Speaker 2: going to do the podcast again. Yeah, we'll come on
Speaker 2: to all of that and talk about why there's been
Speaker 2: like an eighteen month gap and things in time, but yeah, otherwise,
Speaker 2: let's talk tomorrow and the countdown is on.
Speaker 1: One week to go, mate, fantastic, let's do it.