He's the World No 772. He was facing arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, a winner of 17 Grand Slam titles.

Marcus Willis lost ,obviously. But to lose against Roger Federer is no big shame. For a part-time tennis coach who almost gave up the game and was only persuaded to play Wimbledon by his girlfriend, he had already won when he fought through six rounds of the qualifying tournament and then defeated World No. 54 Ricardas Berankis in the first round.

Wednesday's tennis match was unique. The crowd cheered the underdog even when FedEx won the first set 6-0. And they exploded the moment Willis won his first game against the maestro.

Willis did warm up through the second and third sets and even managed to beat Federer with a lob, a shot which instantly became the Play of the Day.

The dream ended after Willis lost the next two sets 3-6, 4-6, but the ever magnanimous Federer, realising the significance of the occasion and its importance for his young opponent, held back as Willis, now teary-eyed, thanked his supporters for helping him live out a scarcely believable dream.

"It’s not my standard Wednesday," grinned a tired Willis after the match. "But I’ve earned myself a beer, I think.”