Rafael Nadal lost at Wimbledon Thursday to the 78th-ranked player in the world.
That player happens to be Dustin Brown, a German who stands six feet five with dreadlocks half as long. Brown, 30, dispatched Nadal, a Spaniard who stands six feet one and who is ranked 10th in the world, in four sets. The loss marked the third time in four years that Nadal lost during the tournament’s first week.
Brown, who was raised in Jamaica—his mother is German, his father Jamaican; on Twitter he goes by the handle @DreddyTennis—became one of the 100 best players in the world in 2009, when he reached No. 99, the highest ranking ever for a Jamaican player.
#Yeezzziirr #NothingElse2AddBro🍒 https://t.co/YyafnXpnf6
— D. Brown (@DreddyTennis) July 3, 2015
In an interview last year, Nick Kyrgios, an Australian ranked No. 29 in the world, asked Brown what it’s like playing with the dreads.
“For me it makes no difference, I’ve always had long hair,” Brown answered. “I think the last time I cut it was August 1996.”
“That’s insane,” replied Kyrgios. “I was born in 1995. That’s the last time you had a haircut.”
I like Brown’s locks, his game—said to be unorthodox, the better to frustrate opponents—and the VW camper van he used to travel between tournaments early in his career.
Thursday was not the first time that Brown beat Nadal. A year ago, he defeated Rafa in straight sets during the first round of a tournament in Halle, Germany. After the match, Brown recalled his rise through the ranks. “At the start it was awkward,” he told the Guardian. “People didn’t know who I was, everyone was like, ‘Who’s this guy with the camper?’ But after a while, meeting people, playing better, playing doubles, stringing rackets for the guys, you get to know everyone.”
“Call it hustling, grinding, whatever you want… we were all just trying to get on to the big tour,” he added.