Greg Garber, Senior Writer 9y

More misery for Rafael Nadal at the All England Club

Tennis, WTA

LONDON -- In just one set, Dustin Brown owned 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.

With spectacular dreadlocks (which seem longer than his legs) and plenty of confidence, Brown stormed onto Centre Court and won the first four points against Nadal in less than a minute. About 35 minutes later, the German scorched a backhand service return right at Rafa's feet to lock up the first set, as the crowd buzzed nervously that the two-time Wimbledon champion had dropped a frame against a 102nd-ranked qualifier.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise.

Thanks to a straight-sets victory versus Nadal last year in Halle, Germany, Brown had never dropped a set to Nadal. Brown entered their second-round match Thursday as one of only three active men with a winning record against Rafa, along with Nick Kyrgios and Borna Coric. But those other guys snuck up on Nadal, beating him while they were lean and hungry teenagers.

Brown, meanwhile, is 30 years old and has rarely snuck up on anybody. He is an unorthodox and charismatic player who is a delight to behold. And a confounding pain in the asterisk to play.

This, Rafa rediscovered Thursday evening.

He lost to Brown 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a result that, even given Rafa's recent history here, bordered on stunning.

"I think I [did] all the things well to prepare for this tournament," a glum Nadal said in his postmatch interview. "I lost. Sad today for that, obviously. But at the end of the day that's sport. Good moments and bad moments.

"Obviously today is a bad moment for me."

It was the fourth consecutive year that Nadal was ushered to the wrought iron gates by a player ranked No. 100 or lower.

Since he won Wimbledon in 2010 and lost in the 2011 final to Novak Djokovic, the All England Club has been Rafa's personal chamber of horrors. In 2012, Lukas Rosol (No. 100) defeated him in the second round; in 2013, Steve Darcis (No. 135) beat him in the first round; and in 2014, No. 144-ranked Kyrgios edged him out, marking the first time a teenager had beaten a world No. 1 in a Grand Slam since ... Nadal defeated Roger Federer at Roland Garros in 2005.

"Nothing is impossible," said John McEnroe, who analyzed the match for the BBC, still sounding vaguely unconvinced.

Brown, who was playing on Centre Court for the first time, was worried he'd "freak out a little bit" but seemed relatively calm throughout.

"Because I played him in Halle, it felt very familiar," Brown said in a postmatch interview with the BBC. "It's easy to play my game against him on my favorite surface because I have nothing to lose. I went for my shots and started off really, really well."

Rafa may have lost the match, but he didn't lose his sense of humor.

Asked if he would head back home to Spain or stay in London for a few more days, Nadal smiled.

"I don't have more work here in London, so ..." he said, "If you want to use the house, going to be free tomorrow."

Hard to believe Brown played doubles for four hours on Wednesday, losing a five-set match with partner Andreas Haider-Maurer.

Nadal served at 5-3 in the fourth set to stay in the match and immediately lost the first two points. Soon, it was three out of four, giving Brown two meaty match points. On the first, he worked his way into net and, though he seemed tempted, Brown pulled his racket off a ball that was playable. Rafa's forehand dropped in and he had saved the first. A 119 mph ace down the middle got Nadal back even, and he went on to win the game.

Brown did not shrink from his third match-point opportunity. He sent an ace outside and Nadal -- who looked curiously old and slow -- was done.

"I just said to myself, 'Try to concentrate. If you lose, nobody is going to say anything bad,'" Brown said. "Just get through it."

That he did, in what was unquestionably the biggest win of his life.

Next up for Brown: No. 22 seed Viktor Troicki.

Brown laughed when the name came up.

"To be honest, I haven't worried about it," he said. "My plan was to come out and play my game. I didn't think about what would happen after 9 p.m."

And who would have believed Nadal would lose at Wimbledon four years in a row to a player ranked No. 100 or worse?

"I need to accept that these things can happen and keep going," Nadal said. "Life continues and my career, too. I'm working more than ever to change that dynamic."

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