The way Dustin Brown played against Rafael Nadal at
Wimbledon, it’s a wonder the 30-year-old German hasn’t
had a big breakthrough earlier in his career.
On the final point of the first set of his latest Wimbledon
disappointment, Rafael Nadal swung his mighty, lefty
forehand – and whiffed, accidentally whacking his right leg
with his racket.
It was a painful, embarrassing mistake, symbolic of the sort
of day this was.
During five trips to the All England Club from 2006-11, Nadal
reached the final every time. In his most recent four
appearances, though, Nadal has exited early against an
unheralded, unaccomplished and, most importantly,
unafraid opponent ranked 100th or worse. On Thursday,
Nadal lost 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round to Dustin
Brown, who needed to qualify just to enter the main draw.
“It’s not the end,” Nadal said. “(It’s) a sad moment for me
… but life continues. My career, too.”
Toni Nadal, Rafael’s uncle and coach, summed up the
Centre Court match this way: “He played really bad. Bad
shots. Very bad with his forehand.”
All true. But give credit to Brown and his varied, risky and
entertaining brand of tennis, a mix of old-school serve-and-
volleying, drop shots, drop volleys and go-for-it returns.
“I had nothing to lose. If I lose 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, everyone says
`Bravo, Rafa,'” Brown said.
The 30-year-old Brown was born in Germany to a Jamaican
father – whose face is tattooed on Brown’s stomach – and
German mother. They moved to Jamaica when he was 12
and returned to Europe about a decade ago. Around that
time, his parents bought him an RV so he could drive from
tournament to tournament.
Who could have imagined this sort of triumph back then?
Or, frankly, even now?
After all, Brown is ranked 102nd, entered Thursday with a
6-11 record in 2015 and has never been past the third round
at a major.
Nadal, meanwhile, is a former No. 1 and the owner of 14
major titles, tied with Pete Sampras for second-most behind
Roger Federer’s 17.
Federer joined Andy Murray and Petra Kvitova as past
Wimbledon champions picking up straightforward, straight-
set victories Thursday. Federer’s 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win over Sam
Querrey of the U.S. included one particularly memorable
moment – an on-the-run, between-the-legs lob.
“You want to go over and give him a high-five sometimes,”
Querrey said, “but you can’t do that.”
Nadal used to leave opponents feeling that way, too. Not
lately. He missed time last season with a right wrist injury,
then needed appendix surgery, and has spoken about
confidence issues.
After his run of five consecutive French Open titles ended
last month with a quarterfinal loss to Novak Djokovic,
Nadal’s ranking dropped to 10th, his worst in 10 years.
Now he has failed to win any of his past four major
tournaments, not even reaching the semifinals. It’s the 29-
year-old Spaniard’s longest drought since the first five
Slams of his career.
Consider, too, Nadal’s history at Wimbledon. He lost to
Federer in the 2006 and 2007 finals, then beat him 9-7 in the
fifth set of the epic 2008 final. After missing the 2009
tournament because of injury, Nadal collected another
trophy in 2010, then lost to Djokovic in the 2011 final.
“I don’t know if I will be back to (that) level,” Nadal
acknowledged.
In 2012, he lost to No. 100 Lukas Rosol in the second round.
In 2013, he lost to No. 135 Steve Darcis in the first. And last
year, he lost to No. 144 Nick Kyrgios in the fourth.
Like those guys, Brown played wonderfully. His back-length
dreadlocks jumping around as he raced to the net, Brown
serve-and-volleyed on 99 of 114 service points, winning 71
of those. He hit serves at up to 133 mph (215 kph).
“Whatever I do is to take him out of his comfort zone,”
Brown said.
Most importantly, he never let up.
“I’m very happy that I held it together for the whole match,”
said Brown, who also beat Nadal on grass in Germany last
year.
This match turned for good at 2-all in the third set, when
Nadal’s pair of double-faults handed over a break point that
Brown converted with a drop-volley winner. Brown looked
up at his guest box, where folks were jumping and yelling
and fist-pumping wildly.
At least Nadal, who never earned a break chance over the
last two sets, was able to joke afterward.
When a reporter asked whether he would stick around at his
rented place before heading home, Nadal replied: “I don’t
have more work here in London, so if you want to use the
house, (it’s) going to be free tomorrow.”
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