Dustin Brown’s Twitter handle is @Dreddytennis. At Wimbledon he’s found a Jamaican restaurant where he goes for jerk chicken. When he was 20, his German mother and Jamaican father bought him a Volkswagen camper van in which he travelled around Europe, playing in Futures level tournaments, dreaming of one day hitting the big league. On his torso – which he patted after winning the biggest match of his career on Thursday – is a tattooed portrait of his father. He last cut his hair in 1996 and the locks are rumoured to now be four feet long.
Brown had to go through qualifiers at Wimbledon this year to get into the main draw. His 6’5” frame and flowing dreadlocks and unorthodox but thunderous serve and volley game electrified Centre Court on Day 4. Following his second round match some people might be tempted to use words like stunned and shock and huge upset. But do not be fooled. Dustin Brown, at age 30, may be the man of the moment. But Dustin Brown is also the Lukas Rosol of 2015. He is the Steve Darcis of 2015. He is the Nick Krygios of 2015.
Three years ago, another 6’5” player, the Czech Republic’s Rosol, was making his main-draw Wimbledon debut. Ranked a lowly 100, he cracked 22 aces to defeat Rafa Nadal in the second round. It was a huge upset over the previous year’s finalist and the then world number two. At age 26, he had never won an ATP match on grass before that year. His giant serve and fearless shot making had everyone amazed. The next morning, newspapers used works such as stunned and blasted to describe what he had done both to Nadal on the court and to the world of tennis in general. Wimbledon was abuzz. In the next round, Rosol lost to Germany’s Philip Kolschrieber in straight sets. He has not gone past the second round of Wimbledon since then.
Ending with an ace
Two years ago, Steve Darcis of Belgium, ranked 135 in the world, became the first man to beat Rafa Nadal in the first round of any Grand Slam. He was also the lowest-ranked player to beat Nadal in any tournament since 2006. The 29-year-old played the match of life, defeating the fifth-seeded Nadal, who had won his eighth French Open just two weeks earlier, in straight sets. Like Rosol the year before, Darcis ended the match with an ace. The next day, the media used words like shock and inspired to explain what had happened. Shortly after, Darcis withdrew from the tournament with a shoulder injury, unable to play his second round match. Till date he has won only two ATP events and has only once gone past the third round of a Grand Slam.
One year ago, a 19-year-old from Australia called Nick Kyrgios, ranked 144, received a wildcard to play at Wimbledon. In the fourth round, against Rafa Nadal, he hit a ball between his legs for a winner, a shot that was later described in The Canberra Times as freakish andaudacious. His reckless play on court, coupled with his flamboyance off it, made him an overnight sensation. The next day, tennis fans and analysts alike wondered if the next big star had been born. But Kyrgios lost in the next round to Milos Raonic, and has had a disappointing season so far this year. Time and talent are on his side, but so far he has yet to fulfill his potential. At present, he, along with Rosol, Darcis, and Brown, have a single claim to fame – they have all beaten Rafa Nadal before the quarterfinals at Wimbledon while being ranked below 100.
The $1,880,000 question (for that is the value of the top prize here) is: would they have beaten any of the others in the Big Four – Federer, Djokovic, Murray – on that day, with that same level of tennis? And the $73,158,490 question (the value of Nadal prize money over this career) is: Are Rafa’s winning ways at Wimbledon well and truly over?
The great irony of Nadal’s relationship with Wimbledon is that before he started losing annually to players ranked a hundred places below him, he reached five consecutive finals. Originally hailed as a clay court specialist who would probably never do well on grass, Nadal proved the universe wrong by adapting his game. He began playing doubles in an attempt to improve his volleys, adjusted his serve, and pumped up his belief and willpower,to give us five glorious years.
A thriller
For each of the first three of those, he played his archrival Roger Federer in the final. Their contrasting styles and physiques made their rivalry perhaps the most compelling one the world of sport has ever seen. The two brought out the absolute best in one another. In each of those finals, the matches kept getting better. The first year, Nadal took a set off Federer. The second, he took two, and lost a hard-fought championship match. And finally, in 2008, he won what is described by many as the best tennis match ever played, a scintillating five-set thriller that ended in near darkness.
By defeating his old foe and the person who had won five straight titles there, Nadal achieved another remarkable feat. He became only the second person after Bjorn Borg to win back-to-back French Open and Wimbledon titles on completely different surfaces. Injury forced him to skip the event the following year, but when he came back in 2010 with a vengeance, Nadal beat Tomas Berdych in the final, which meant he was undefeated at Wimbledon in three years. Once again, he won Wimbledon just two weeks after triumphing at the French, an astonishing achievement. In 2011, Nadal reached the final for the fifth time, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
Since then, he has been a shade of his former self on grass, managing to win only one tournament on the surface (this year at Stuttgart,) and reaching the second week at Wimbledon only once. It is natural for tennis fans to wonder if he will ever regain his past glory.
The fact is Nadal already has regained it several times over his career, repeatedly coming back from difficult injuries and long periods away from the game. Critics have been writing his tennis obituary for years, ever since he lost to Robin Soderling at the French Open back in 2009. It has been frequently predicted that the physicality of his game and the grind of his routine will send him into retirement much earlier than Federer. Few people ever expected him to pay past 30. Now, he is 29. This last comeback, attempted since the beginning of this year, has been his least successful. His ranking has slipped to an unbelievable ten. This year’s loss at Wimbledon had an air of inevitability about it with many among us not really expecting him to get past the tall German to whom he had already lost a year ago at Halle.
A loss in Paris
Even if his spirit is, as always, more than willing, surely the body’s protests are getting louder. He must be one of the oldest 29-year-olds in the world. And this year he lost easily on his beloved clay in Paris to Djokovic, unable to even put up a fight against his nemesis. With the French Open title gone, what’s left to defend? More important, with 14 Grand Slams including at least one on each surface, as well as an Olympic gold and a Davis Cup title, what’s left to prove? Next week, he could hang up his Nikes and will remain one of the greatest tennis players ever born. Or he could continue to play for the sheer joy of competition that we know is an integral part of him, and not worry too much about the results. He is still in his twenties and watching him fight for every point on the court is still – and let’s use this word ourselves – inspiring.
One hopes that he will be around a little while longer, even if his best days at Wimbledon are in the rearview mirror. Or, maybe, just maybe, like other great champions, he has a few flickers left in him, one or two last bursts of flame, before it finally goes out. The next 12 months will tell.
For now, know this. Dustin Brown is a burst of flame himself. Hopefully he will avoid the fate of his predecessors and win another match. Unless he is too excited or drained after his triumph, he may even get through what is now a pretty easy draw, and reach the quarterfinals. Do not ask yourselves if he will win the title because he won’t. But for now, let him enjoy his moment in this year’s uncharacteristically strong British sun. Because sometimes all it takes to light up a fire at Wimbledon is a little spark. And for these past four years, that has been provided by Rafa Nadal’s vanquishers.
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Brown had to go through qualifiers at Wimbledon this year to get into the main draw. His 6’5” frame and flowing dreadlocks and unorthodox but thunderous serve and volley game electrified Centre Court on Day 4. Following his second round match some people might be tempted to use words like stunned and shock and huge upset. But do not be fooled. Dustin Brown, at age 30, may be the man of the moment. But Dustin Brown is also the Lukas Rosol of 2015. He is the Steve Darcis of 2015. He is the Nick Krygios of 2015.
Three years ago, another 6’5” player, the Czech Republic’s Rosol, was making his main-draw Wimbledon debut. Ranked a lowly 100, he cracked 22 aces to defeat Rafa Nadal in the second round. It was a huge upset over the previous year’s finalist and the then world number two. At age 26, he had never won an ATP match on grass before that year. His giant serve and fearless shot making had everyone amazed. The next morning, newspapers used works such as stunned and blasted to describe what he had done both to Nadal on the court and to the world of tennis in general. Wimbledon was abuzz. In the next round, Rosol lost to Germany’s Philip Kolschrieber in straight sets. He has not gone past the second round of Wimbledon since then.
Ending with an ace
Two years ago, Steve Darcis of Belgium, ranked 135 in the world, became the first man to beat Rafa Nadal in the first round of any Grand Slam. He was also the lowest-ranked player to beat Nadal in any tournament since 2006. The 29-year-old played the match of life, defeating the fifth-seeded Nadal, who had won his eighth French Open just two weeks earlier, in straight sets. Like Rosol the year before, Darcis ended the match with an ace. The next day, the media used words like shock and inspired to explain what had happened. Shortly after, Darcis withdrew from the tournament with a shoulder injury, unable to play his second round match. Till date he has won only two ATP events and has only once gone past the third round of a Grand Slam.
One year ago, a 19-year-old from Australia called Nick Kyrgios, ranked 144, received a wildcard to play at Wimbledon. In the fourth round, against Rafa Nadal, he hit a ball between his legs for a winner, a shot that was later described in The Canberra Times as freakish andaudacious. His reckless play on court, coupled with his flamboyance off it, made him an overnight sensation. The next day, tennis fans and analysts alike wondered if the next big star had been born. But Kyrgios lost in the next round to Milos Raonic, and has had a disappointing season so far this year. Time and talent are on his side, but so far he has yet to fulfill his potential. At present, he, along with Rosol, Darcis, and Brown, have a single claim to fame – they have all beaten Rafa Nadal before the quarterfinals at Wimbledon while being ranked below 100.
The $1,880,000 question (for that is the value of the top prize here) is: would they have beaten any of the others in the Big Four – Federer, Djokovic, Murray – on that day, with that same level of tennis? And the $73,158,490 question (the value of Nadal prize money over this career) is: Are Rafa’s winning ways at Wimbledon well and truly over?
The great irony of Nadal’s relationship with Wimbledon is that before he started losing annually to players ranked a hundred places below him, he reached five consecutive finals. Originally hailed as a clay court specialist who would probably never do well on grass, Nadal proved the universe wrong by adapting his game. He began playing doubles in an attempt to improve his volleys, adjusted his serve, and pumped up his belief and willpower,to give us five glorious years.
A thriller
For each of the first three of those, he played his archrival Roger Federer in the final. Their contrasting styles and physiques made their rivalry perhaps the most compelling one the world of sport has ever seen. The two brought out the absolute best in one another. In each of those finals, the matches kept getting better. The first year, Nadal took a set off Federer. The second, he took two, and lost a hard-fought championship match. And finally, in 2008, he won what is described by many as the best tennis match ever played, a scintillating five-set thriller that ended in near darkness.
By defeating his old foe and the person who had won five straight titles there, Nadal achieved another remarkable feat. He became only the second person after Bjorn Borg to win back-to-back French Open and Wimbledon titles on completely different surfaces. Injury forced him to skip the event the following year, but when he came back in 2010 with a vengeance, Nadal beat Tomas Berdych in the final, which meant he was undefeated at Wimbledon in three years. Once again, he won Wimbledon just two weeks after triumphing at the French, an astonishing achievement. In 2011, Nadal reached the final for the fifth time, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
Since then, he has been a shade of his former self on grass, managing to win only one tournament on the surface (this year at Stuttgart,) and reaching the second week at Wimbledon only once. It is natural for tennis fans to wonder if he will ever regain his past glory.
The fact is Nadal already has regained it several times over his career, repeatedly coming back from difficult injuries and long periods away from the game. Critics have been writing his tennis obituary for years, ever since he lost to Robin Soderling at the French Open back in 2009. It has been frequently predicted that the physicality of his game and the grind of his routine will send him into retirement much earlier than Federer. Few people ever expected him to pay past 30. Now, he is 29. This last comeback, attempted since the beginning of this year, has been his least successful. His ranking has slipped to an unbelievable ten. This year’s loss at Wimbledon had an air of inevitability about it with many among us not really expecting him to get past the tall German to whom he had already lost a year ago at Halle.
A loss in Paris
Even if his spirit is, as always, more than willing, surely the body’s protests are getting louder. He must be one of the oldest 29-year-olds in the world. And this year he lost easily on his beloved clay in Paris to Djokovic, unable to even put up a fight against his nemesis. With the French Open title gone, what’s left to defend? More important, with 14 Grand Slams including at least one on each surface, as well as an Olympic gold and a Davis Cup title, what’s left to prove? Next week, he could hang up his Nikes and will remain one of the greatest tennis players ever born. Or he could continue to play for the sheer joy of competition that we know is an integral part of him, and not worry too much about the results. He is still in his twenties and watching him fight for every point on the court is still – and let’s use this word ourselves – inspiring.
One hopes that he will be around a little while longer, even if his best days at Wimbledon are in the rearview mirror. Or, maybe, just maybe, like other great champions, he has a few flickers left in him, one or two last bursts of flame, before it finally goes out. The next 12 months will tell.
For now, know this. Dustin Brown is a burst of flame himself. Hopefully he will avoid the fate of his predecessors and win another match. Unless he is too excited or drained after his triumph, he may even get through what is now a pretty easy draw, and reach the quarterfinals. Do not ask yourselves if he will win the title because he won’t. But for now, let him enjoy his moment in this year’s uncharacteristically strong British sun. Because sometimes all it takes to light up a fire at Wimbledon is a little spark. And for these past four years, that has been provided by Rafa Nadal’s vanquishers.
