Wimbledon: Marcus Willis beats world number 99 Yuichi Sugita in qualifying

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Marcus WillisImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Marcus Willis was given a wildcard into the qualifying draw

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British world number 775 Marcus Willis beat Japan's 99th-ranked Yuichi Sugita in their Wimbledon qualifying opener.

Warwickshire's Willis, 25, beat Sugita, seeded fourth in the Roehampton tournament, 1-6 6-4 6-1.

The British number 23 needs to win another two matches - starting with Russian teenager Andrey Rublev - to secure his main-draw place.

Compatriot Joe Salisbury, ranked 706th in the world, caused another upset, beating Italian Alessandro Giannessi.

On Monday Britain's world number 554 Dan Cox overcame 16th seed Thiemo de Bakker.

Britain's Katie Boulter, Edward Corrie and Gabriella Taylor also won their first-round matches, but Daniel Smethurst is out after a 6-3 7-6 (8-6) defeat by France's Calvin Hemery and Maia Lumsden lost to Czech Tereza Smitkova 2-6 6-2 6-2.

Image source, Dan Evans
Image caption,

British number four Dan Evans tweeted his congratulations to Marcus Willis, referencing the part-time coaching Willis has been doing alongside his professional playing

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