Two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal made an early exit for the fourth year in a row as he was outplayed by qualifier Dustin Brown on Centre Court.
Germany’s world number 102 won 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-4 to reach the third round of a Grand Slam for the third time.
It is only the second time this year that the 30-year-old has won back-to-back matches at the top level.
Nadal, 29, has now lost in the second, first, fourth and second rounds on his past four visits to Wimbledon.
On each occasion the 14-time Grand Slam champion was beaten by a player outside the world’s top 100.
Brown, who changed nationality from Jamaican to German in 2010, now has a 2-0 record against Nadal having beaten the Spaniard on grass in Halle last year.
He came through three rounds of qualifying in Roehampton last week, needed four sets to win his first round on Tuesday and played five sets of doubles on Wednesday.
John McEnroe, three-time Wimbledon champion |
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| “Five hundred professional tennis players are inspired to hang in for a couple of years longer because of what they have just seen there. Nothing is impossible. Brown’s level of play on this court was spectacularly high.” |
Thursday’s victory guarantees him £77,000 in prize money, and Brown will take on Serbian 22nd seed Viktor Troicki in the last 32 on Saturday.
His attacking game proved too much for 10th seed Nadal, with 13 aces, 58 winners and 89 trips to the net keeping the Spaniard on the back foot.
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Source: BBC