Marcus Willis has spent much of this year working as a teaching pro at the Warwick Boat Club, but he may want to consider putting in his notice after defeating Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania on Monday at Wimbledon.

The British qualifier, who was the last direct entrant into the pre-qualifying tournament for Wimbledon, played the match of his life in defeating Berankis, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Willis defied his Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 772, hitting 14 aces and 43 winners to defeat a player ranked more than 700 spots higher than him. The plucky Brit also saved 19 of 20 break points during the match. He raised his arms in triumph after hitting a service winner on match point and rushed to celebrate with friends and family.

"It's quite a nice life, isn't it," said Willis. "I haven't experienced this. Goran Ivanisevic just came around and shook my hand. He’s my hero."

Willis was once a highly touted junior ranked in the Top 15 of the ITF Junior Rankings, but struggled to immediately replicate that success on the pro tour. He blamed poor living in his first few years for his results not matching his talent.

"I was bigged up a lot. Then I got dropped in the real world. I lost a lot of confidence, made some bad decisions and went out too much. Lifestyle wasn't good," said Willis. "I didn't have the drive. I found it three years ago. I worked very hard with my coach, Matt Smith, in Surbiton. Ridiculous times in the morning and ran myself into the ground, but it's worth it now."

Just as he found his drive, his body betrayed him. Willis struggled with injuries and was limited to just one tournament this year in January. He took up a coaching job and began playing in French and German tennis leagues in the hopes of putting together enough money to return to the tour full-time in January, but the guaranteed £50,000 he’ll earn for reaching the second-round will go a long way towards bringing him back sooner.

His dream run now becomes surreal as he gets ready to play No. 3 seed Roger Federer in a match that could potentially be placed on Centre Court.

“I'm not sure he can play on grass,” joked Willis. “Obviously it's an amazing dream come true. I get to play on a stadium court. This is what I dreamed of when I was younger. I'm going to go out there and try to win the match. I might not. But I'm going to give everything, as I have the last seven matches."