Dustin Brown: Beating Rafa Nadal won't change me, says Wimbledon sensation

 
Rasta roots: Dustin Brown
GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images
Chris Jones3 July 2015

Dustin Brown today pledged to stay true to his Rasta roots to ensure he delivers more of the “DreddyTennis” that knocked Rafael Nadal out of the Championships.

The 30-year-old qualifier is a unique character on the circuit but very few fans had seen just how different he is until last night’s stunning 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over the two-time Wimbledon champion on Centre Court.

Brown, whose dreadlocks fall almost the entire length of his back, is on course to face Britain’s Andy Murray in the quarter-finals if he can continue to make headlines by defeating Viktor Troicki in the third round tomorrow.

The world No102 has a Jamaican father and German mother who bought him a campervan during the early years of his career to allow him to save on hotel rooms when he took part in low-level tournaments.

Brown, whose DreddyTennis Twitter account passed 60,000 followers this morning, said: “It’s difficult when people ask me about myself because for me it’s normal. I could be sitting here and saying, ‘why are you guys all different?’ I am not trying to be a certain way. That is how I am, and always have been. Obviously playing this sport, you have to adapt a few things to be able to play the sport. But I try not to change myself too much while I’m doing that. It’s great that people appreciate it. But if I would worry too much about what people think then I wouldn’t have the hair and wouldn’t look the way I look.

“Well, obviously all of that has made me to the person I am, tennis-wise and also as a person and as a character. And I guess all that led to this day, which is probably the best day of my life.”

Brown beat Nadal in the Halle grass-court tournament in 2014 and produced another example of serve-and-volley tennis that is rarely seen on grass these days.

He said:“I know I’m dangerous on the faster surfaces but it took me a while to learn that I can win a match like this on a given day. But, I can also play a shocking match. The main thing is to accept that my game has that span.

“Obviously, I am not unbeatable on this surface but it comes more natural playing on it with my type of game. I know that I can play really well and I am looking forward to my next game against Viktor Troicki.”

Dustin Brown - In Pictures

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Brown’s life will be changed by this win over Nadal as he is now guaranteed £70,000 and can expect to move into the world’s top 100. That will mean automatic entry into the US Open rather than having to take part in the qualifying tournament which is the route he needed to get into the main draw here.

Brown had lost in the first round of nine tournaments this year and celebrated his victory by lifting up his sleeveless top to reveal a tattooed portrait of his Jamaican father which he patted in triumph.

“I don’t get to see my father that often,” said Brown. “It’s been a very long road for me and my family. So that’s one of the things I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time.”

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