Wednesday 19 October 2016 17:10, UK
Marcus Willis will take on some of the biggest stars in tennis after being handed the last spot in the Tie Break Tens event in Vienna later this month.
The unlikely Wimbledon hero will play for a winner-take-all cheque of $250,000 on October 23rd after joining British No 1 Andy Murray, Dominic Thiem, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Tommy Haas and Goran Ivanisevic in the all-star field at the Wiener Stadthalle.
Willis made his name when he won six matches to qualify for the main draw at the All England Club this summer and reached the second round, before eventually going down to 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.
The players will be divided into two groups of three players over a round-robin format of first-to-10 tie-break matches, with the top two players in each group advancing to the semi-finals.
Willis believes he can win the event, despite being ranked No 497 in the world and having not played a match since Wimbledon because of injury.
"The opposition isn't very good, is it?" joked Willis, who will also play in the qualifying rounds of the Erste Bank Open 500 - the ATP World Tour event in Vienna over the same weekend.
"In a three-set match against guys like Andy Murray, Dominic Thiem and Jo Wilfried Tsonga I would be unlikely to win, but in Tie Break Tens in a first-to-10-point tie-break? I think I could win a 10-point tie-break against anyone.
"Accrington Stanley would lose to Liverpool over 90 minutes, but in a 10-minute match they would stand a chance. It's the same with this. I think it will suit my game. It's exciting, it's a sprint, and the crowd are going to be into it.
"I'm lucky to have been given this opportunity, I've been training hard to get ready for Vienna and I can't wait to give it a crack."
The inaugural Tie Break Tens event at the Royal Albert Hall in London last December was won by another British player - Kyle Edmund. He defeated Murray 10-7 in the final to win more money in one night than he had accumulated throughout the rest of 2015.
