DUSTIN BROWN
Urodzony: 08.12.1984
Miejsce urodzenia: Celle, Niemcy
Miejsce zamieszkania: Winsen / Aller, Niemcy
Wzrost: 196 cm
Waga: 78 kg
Zawodnik praworęczny
Strona internetowa: www.dustinbrown.de.tl
W roku 2009 wygrał Challenger w Smarkandzie, był w 4 finałach imprez z tego cylku oraz wygrał 1 futures i był w finałach 2 innych imprez z tego cyklu.
Dustin :-) Obecnie (w związku z brakiem Frankiego) mój ulubieniec. Dziś w drugiej rundzie ATP w Johannesburgu pokonał Recouderca i osiągnął swój pierwszy ćwierćfinał na tym szczeblu. inna sprawa,że jest to impreza śmiesznie słaba- ale właśnie w takich turniejach trzeba zbierać doświadczenie i punkty.
Moim zdaniem Jamajczyk będzie w Top100 jeszcze w tym roku. Trochę radosnego tenisa zawsze się przyda.
Statystyczny napisał:
Moim zdaniem Jamajczyk będzie w Top100 jeszcze w tym roku. Trochę radosnego tenisa zawsze się przyda.
Za ćwierćfinał w Johannesburgu zdobył więcej punktów, niż w tamtym roku do końca maja. Jeśli występ w RPA zakończy na 1/4, awansuje w okolice 132 miejsca, a stamtąd droga to Top 100 już niedaleka, bo brakuje 100 pkt.. Tym bardziej, że jak już wcześniej wspomniałem, praktycznie nic nie broni do końca maja. ;-)
A ty go lubisz, Jaccolu?
W życiu go na oczy nie widziałem. :D
Zakładając wątek przypatrzyłem się, jak mu się wiodło w tamtym sezonie. Mam nadzieję obejrzeć jego 'wyczyny' w Johannesburgu. ;-)
Tak, wiem, że odpowiedź Cię zawiodła. :P
Nie wiem jaki jest sens zakładania wątków takich graczy, jeśli nawet zawodnicy będący dość wysoko w 100 nie mają tu swojego profilu :)
A dlaczego nie? Jak jest zainteresowanie to nie widzę przeciwwskazań. Tematyka tego forum wręcz coś takiego wymusza. ;)
A kolega Dustin ma ostry start, jak na ilość wpisów w Jego temacie po 2 (?) godzinach od Jego założenia. ;)
To ciekawy zawodnik, osoby wyróżniające się powinny mieć swoje profile.
Ps. Jaccolu-własnie takiej odpowiedzi się spodziewałem :)
tu www.tennislive.tv można znaleźć mecz Dustina. Wchodzimy w zakładkę "6.WV Challenger" i po prawej stronie zjeżdzamy suwakiem do meczu Galvani-Brown.
Brown's Cool Run In Johannesburg
As the highest-ranked player to ever emerge from Jamaica, 6’ 5” serve and volleyer Dustin Brown could feel entitled to a little more recognition in his sports-loving homeland. But in a country most famous for being home to the world’s fastest man, Brown accepts that, for now at least, he will fly below the radar.
“Five months ago I’d go to Jamaica and go through customs and it would be a hassle getting into my own country even though I am the No. 1 tennis player from the country,” he said. “If Usain Bolt comes, of course he’s a lot bigger than me, he probably doesn’t have to go through customs at all. Now that my ranking has gone to 140, 150 I have been getting a little more media attention in Jamaica; I have been on the TV once or twice on the news.”
Playing just his second tour-level event at this week’s SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg, 25-year-old Brown is one match win away from becoming the first player representing Jamaica to reach a semi-final of an ATP World Tour event. Doug Burke, whose best South African Airways ATP Ranking was No. 175, is the only other Jamaican player to reach a tour-level quarter-final, which he did at Wellington in 1989.
Tall, wiry and sporting dreadlocks, World No. 141 Brown commands attention on the court with his athletic, serve and volley game. And, ironically, the boy from the beach is making his breakout in Johannesburg at elevation, where his big serve pierces the rarefied air. Asked about his speed – a Jamaican trait – Brown replied: “Short distances from the net to the baseline I’m fine, but I don’t know if I would be doing 100m sprints against Usain. That wouldn’t look too good.”
Brown was born in Celle, Germany in 1984 to his Jamaican father Leroy and his German mother Inge and lived in the country until 1996, when he moved to Jamaica. After finishing high school Brown played Futures in Jamaica until 2004, when he moved back to Europe, driving himself to Futures and Challengers in a camper van bought for him by his parents. Brown said that his eight years in Jamaica had a significant impact on his personal and professional development.
“It was good to see a harder side of life. In Germany as a 10 or 11 year old you have a computer, a Gameboy, but in Jamaica…. It was good for me personally, mentally and also for my game to get a little tougher and not to whine about everything, which you tend to do if you get pampered all the time. In Jamaica there was not a lot of pampering.”
Before this week Brown’s lone main-draw ATP World Tour appearance came at Newport in July 2003, when he lost in three sets to five-time ATP World Tour Doubles Champion Bob Bryan.
Last year Brown broke through on the ATP Challenger circuit to compile a 29-16 match record, winning his first title at Samarkand, Uzbekistan in August while reaching four other finals -- Karlsruhe, Germany (as a qualifier), Almaty, Kazakhstan, and back-to-back events in November in Eckental and Aachen, Germany.
One year ago he was playing the Spain #4 Futures event (at which he reached the quarter-finals) and he was ranked No. 465. He finished last season a year-end best No. 144 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings.
In Friday's quarter-finals, Brown will meet eighth-seeded Frenchman Stephane Robert.
Dopiero pod koniec zeszłego sezonu dal sie poznac szerszej publice a lat juz troche ma, no podobnie jak Łukasz Kubot, pierwsza setka na pewno niedlugo.
Powodzenia, na pewno da duzo kolorytu ATP;D
Heh :D Dustin :D widziałem go w tamtym roku w jakimś challengerze i nie ukrywam od razu polubiłem, jak już napisano prezentuję radosny tenis i bardzo chciałbym, aby wszedł do TOP100, zapamiętałem go tez ze specyficznego serwisu, takiego z "krótkiej ręki", coś a'la Roddick :D
Moim skromnym zdaniem może dojść na Wimblu do około trzeciej rundy.
W ćwierćfinale Johannesburga Mr.Dread zagra z niezłym Francuzem, Stephane Robertem.
Trzymam kciuki :)
W dzisiejszym notowaniu rankingu ATP Entry Dustin odnotował swój najwyższy ranking w karierze. Jest 131. ;)
i tak dalej.
01.03.2010 - Dustin znowu w górę, dziś jest notowany na 124 miejscu w rankingu Entry.
W tym tygodniu Dustin gra w Johannesburgu. Jest rozstawiony z piątką, ale w pierwszej rundzie trafił na niegdyś niezłego Czecha Ivo Minarza. W jego ćwiartce jest też turniejowa jedynka, Łukasz Lacko ze Słowacji.
#2 ATP Challenger - Johannesburg
R1 Jan Minar (CZE) 6-2 6-1
R2 (q)Noam Okun (ISR) 6-7(4) 7-5 6-4
QF Raemon Sluiter (NED) 6-4 7-6(8)
SF (6)Stephane Bohli (SUI) 7-6(3) 6-3
F Izak van der Merwe (RSA) 7-6(2) 6-3
Wielkie, wielkie brawa. Pierwsza setka już niebawem będzie na wyciągnięcie ręki.
Wywiad z Dustinem Brownem po porażce w 1 rundzie Wimbledonu 2010.
Q. Well played. Even though you lost, you still managed to entertain the fans out there.
DUSTIN BROWN: Yeah, I realize that. I mean, Jurgen is a great player. I saw his French Open performance, so that was probably not the best draw you could have gotten here. He's is a very good returner.
Just need to play more often against these guys at these events and have these matches, and just also stay focused with my head. You know, once in a while the guy played well, returned well; and then if he's returning well and I'm giving him, in some games where I got broken, you know, one or two easy volleys which I should put away, and I start messing around. Of course I'm gonna get broken, and that's exactly what happened.
Still, I'm very happy with the way I played. I think I definitely gave him a good match. And, yeah.
Q. He seemed to have trouble reading you. Do you actually make up your decision what shot you're gonna play very far in front of...
DUSTIN BROWN: Well, as far ahead as you can. I mean, if the ball comes, then I know what I'm gonna do. Or I switch it last minute. It always depends.
But normally I pretty much have a good idea of what I'm gonna do.
Q. Because some of shots are unorthodox.
DUSTIN BROWN: For other people, yes; for me, no.
Q. Where did you develop the forehand slice? You don't see that too often.
DUSTIN BROWN: Just a coach, Kim Wittenberg, who I always of working with. An American guy. He always told me, especially when I'm playing on fast surface, you know, I'm always trying to go into the net.
So especially on these surfaces, the forehand slice doesn't come you up. So it's even a lot easier hitting that than the topspin ball, because the ball is gonna jump up higher, especially against the guy who pass really well. It helps a lot.
Q. What was the experience like in the days leading up to it?
DUSTIN BROWN: Definitely nice. Nice to be at the tournament. I have my best friend here, my mom, my aunt. It's just been great. I'm gonna stick around for a couple more days, practice, and then head back to Germany.
Q. It's obviously been mentioned about potentially Davis Cup. You haven't played for any country yet, have you?
DUSTIN BROWN: Played for Jamaica in 2002, but I'm pretty sure the cooling off period is 36 months, so I haven't been playing Davis Cup lately at all.
Yeah, that's one of the questions that's been coming very often lately. But I would say that something has to happen from the LTA. If they're interested, then they have to step towards me. Because just changing my nationality now and getting a British passport is not gonna solve the problem.
So have to definitely have an approach from them and then have a sit down.
Q. Grandparent?
DUSTIN BROWN: Yeah, on my dad's side.
Q. Are you very disillusioned by the attitude of the Jamaican Tennis Authority?
DUSTIN BROWN: Um, basically saying the same thing over and over again. They're not doing their job. Everybody knows it. Now everybody knows it because I actually start playing in these events.
So I'm just basically repeating myself. They're not doing their job and it's terrible.
Q. And they have never given you any funds?
DUSTIN BROWN: No funds, no coaching, no help. Doesn't really help getting an email two days ago telling me, Congratulations for your wildcard for Wimbledon.
I've basically worked really hard and been struggling through and fighting with my parents and everything and I get in in a direct entry, don't have to go through qualifying, it's my second Grand Slam only ‑ the first one was Australian Open ‑ and then you get an email like that from the president, it's like, What are you guys doing at work? Sitting down doing nothing. If the president doesn't know what the No. 1 player is doing, he doesn't care.
Q. Obviously we go back to that Cool Runnings and the bobsled team and everything. Are there a lot of sports in Jamaica where is seems as though you're fighting against what's there instead of with?
DUSTIN BROWN: I don't know, because I don't do any other sports in Jamaica. I play tennis. I've definitely come a cross my struggles and troubles over the years. Now you see Usain Bolt. He's getting along fine with them, I guess. I mean, he's a world record holder, fastest man alive, so I guess they're getting along fine.
I don't know. There's nothing ‑‑ anything I can comment on that.
Q. If the Jamaica Federation fixed their attitude towards you and other players, would you play Davis Cup for them, or would you still look to...
DUSTIN BROWN: Well, definitely a lot of things have to change. It's not only about me. You know, I mean, I could care less and say, Okay, I'll just take my stuff, and when I'm done, then it's done. But then why let them get their way?
At the end of time of I'm done playing, maybe the most talented player will be born in 20 years in Jamaica and won't stand a chance because of their system. So that's actually why I'm ‑‑ the only reason or way you can change a system is when you are doing well and people are listening.
I guess it's these tournaments which I'm gonna be playing more in the next couple months and hopefully also years. So all I can say, is if the questions are gonna be asked, I'm definitely gonna answer the questions and say that they're not doing their job.
Q. So if you did get an approach from Britain, you would change but with reluctance, I guess?
DUSTIN BROWN: It always depends. I've played for Jamaica all my life. I'm actually pretty happy to play with Jamaica. Also to be happy which will also kind of like be a thing for Britain, to be one of the only players or to be the No. 1 player.
Because I could play for Germany also because my mom is German; I am German. But in Germany I am No. 13, a Germany has a lot of good players. So Jamaica doesn't have a lot of good players. I'm the only one right now. So it's actually very nice.
And going to a tournament and you see the Jamaican flag, okay, it's there for me and not for another 20 guys. So that's definitely a nice thing.
It's all options. If the LTA would step toward me and definitely offer me things that would help me improve my game and everything just around my game and definitely make my tennis better, then obviously that's one of the things I would have to look at.
Not because I don't want to play for Jamaica anymore. I just have to try to further my career. Anything that would help me definitely is worth listening to and looking at.
Q. 25 is a relatively late age to be making a breakthrough. Why would you say it's taken this time?
DUSTIN BROWN: That's also one of the main things. I don't come from a tennis family, so everything we've gone through, basically, you know, by trial and error. Do you do that? Do you do that? And then you do something and it's like, Okay, it's working, so that's good.
Basically that's it. Not having your own coach over the years. This is actually the first time that I've traveled that I've had now my best friend as my coach here and my mom and my aunt for support.
Normally it's just, you know, the other guys that you know from the tournaments. They will come over and watch your matches, you'll watch their matches. So you have your friends on the tour that will support you, and you support them.
And then on the other side, better now than never.
Q. Did you play many other sports as a kid?
DUSTIN BROWN: When I was young I was actually growing up doing everything because I was a very hyperactive kid. I did football, soccer, judo, swimming, tennis, and actually sometimes even more than one thing in a day. I'd go from judo to swimming and then from swimming to tennis practice.
So I'll go home and then I'll be tired and my parents are like, Okay, now he's going to sleep. Good thing.
Q. Were you better at one or the other?
DUSTIN BROWN: The last things I was doing was basically tennis and football. Then it was basically my parents said, Okay if you want to be really good at one thing you have to make a decision.
I went with tennis because also it's a singles sport and you're responsible for your own good. You could be the best player on the team on one particular day and still lose. Just probably also a little better at tennis than soccer, so that's just what I stuck with.
Q. How old were you when you started playing and how did you get into tennis?
DUSTIN BROWN: I start playing when I was five. We lived knew a tennis court and Germany, and the coach there was actually a Jamaican who was a friend of the family. So I would pass the courts, saw the courts. Sooner or later I said, you know, I want to do this. When I was five, I started playing.
Q. Were you immediately quite good, or did it take a while?
DUSTIN BROWN: Um, when I was playing juniors in Germany I would have days when I would, for example, play against a top junior in my age group where I would do really well or beat them or almost beat them, and then the next day I would play against a kid who basically couldn't hold a racquet and I would lose.
So it was always a little back and forth just focusing and doing the things I was doing. When was young I was playing serve and volley or hitting the dropshots. If you're playing mini tennis and hitting dropshots, it's not good. The guy is two meters away. (Laughing.)
So I guess I'm just building my game all the way up to now. It took a long time, but now, as I said, I won a set today against Melzer. Last year around this time I was playing a Futures in Germany. So it's definitely a far step.
When I played ‑‑ when I saw him play at the French Open he went to the semis. So if someone said, Dustin, you're gonna go to Wimbledon and you're gonna lose in four sets against him, that's okay for me. The guy is a good guy.
Of course I would have loved to win the match, but for today I did my best, and I'm happy with the end result.
Q. Can I ask you about your superstitious. You like the same ball back.
DUSTIN BROWN: I like the same ball, but it's also a thing that I've gotten in the habit of over the years not in rush myself. So if I go back and go for the ball again and wait until I get the ball back, I won't be rushing myself.
A lot of times if I got nervous then I'll be starting to rush myself on the serve back. So if I always wait until the same ball comes back I give myself time.
Q. You also seem to, if you've played a bad shot with a ball, then you get it and put it in your pocket for the remainder of the game.
DUSTIN BROWN: No, actually most of the time I always have a ball in the pocket. I don't know why that is, but I just got used to it. Doesn't really make a difference what ball it is. Just a ball in the pocket.
Q. Do you have any actual superstitions, like don't tread on the lines?
DUSTIN BROWN: No, nothing like that. The game is hard enough as it is. I don't want to make myself any more...
Q. Not during the points.
DUSTIN BROWN: Of course. But, no, I mean, none of that stuff.
Q. What about from here on? The rest of year, what are you looking to achieve?
DUSTIN BROWN: Well, definitely establish myself well inside the top hundred so I will be in the main draw in the Masters Series events and the Grand Slams and in the tour event.
And then over time, hopefully play these matches more often and then start winning rounds at these events and getting further and further. Just have to keep going. It's been an unbelievable year for me.
My goal at the beginning of the year was to be top hundred and to be in the main draw at Wimbledon. It worked out great. I mean, compared to Indian Wells and Miami, where I also played this year, I played terrible. I think I made four games in both tournaments.
So this tournament at this level definitely was a better tournament. Even though I lost it Jurgen, I'm happy with my result.
Q. Where do go from here next?
DUSTIN BROWN: Probably spend a couple more days in London. Practice here. Haven't seen my best friend that often. Also spend time with my family.
Then go back to Germany for a Challenger on clay, then I go back to the States for Newport, and then come back to German for Stuttgart for ATP.
Q. So clay, grass, clay?
DUSTIN BROWN: Yeah, that's what the schedule looks like right now. I mean, not any different. I practice on grass now, on grass or on fast surfaces. Earlier in the year I had a schedule where I was playing clay/hardcourts. On the clay court of course I'm gonna stay back and play from there; but as soon as I go on a faster surface I'm gonna come in.
So it's gonna take couple hours of practice, and then I'll have it back in the system. Should be fine.
Q. Will you play that forehand slice on the clay court as well?
DUSTIN BROWN: Often, but definitely more suitable for the grass or for the faster hardcourts.
Q. Is there something about you that's typical German?
DUSTIN BROWN: I'm always actually on time, and I hate people that are late. It's just a thing that I've always‑‑ the clock on my phone is always ten minutes ahead so I don't get anywhere late.
Q. That's it?
DUSTIN BROWN: Basically, yeah. And the way I look. (Laughter.)
Q. Is it true that the Jamaican tennis president congratulates you for the wildcard in Wimbledon?
DUSTIN BROWN: Yeah, we just said that a few moments ago. Two days ago I got an email. Just sitting there in the bed and it's like, Oh, what are these guys doing?
Basically just saying, Congratulations for achieving the wildcard at Wimbledon.
Q. What's his name?
DUSTIN BROWN: Phillip Gore.
Dustin Brown, czyli Jamajka, dredy i kolorowe sznurówki
Dustin Brown jako pierwszy Jamajczyk od 40 lat zagrał w turnieju głównym na trawiastych kortach Wimbledonu. Na razie zaintrygował dredami i kolorowymi sznurówkami w butach, ale już niedługo może występować w brytyjskiej kadrze w Pucharze Davisa u boku samego Andy'ego Murray'a.
Mało kto z widzów przybyłych na pierwszy dzień zmagań podczas Wimbledonu dostrzegł pierwsze od 24 lat. zwycięstwo Polaka. Z pewnością więcej osób zwróciło uwagę na pierwszy od 40 lat występ reprezentanta Jamajki. I nic dziwnego, bo 25-letniego Dustina Browna trudno przeoczyć.
Dredy i kolorowe sznurówki
Brown miał pecha, bo w losowaniu trafił na rozstawionego z szesnastką Jurgena Melzera. Austriak dopiero co osiągnął życiowy sukces, dochodząc do półfinału turnieju na kortach Rolanda Garrosa. Jamajczyka pokonał raczej łatwo, w czterech setach 6:3, 4:6, 6:2, 6:3.
Brown, syn Niemki i Jamajczyka, warunki do tenisa ma świetne: do dwóch metrów brakuje mu ledwie czterech centymetrów. Wzrost jednak nie załatwia wszystkiego - obok 17 asów serwisowych Brown miał aż 28 niewymuszonych błędów przy dwunastu rywala. Melzer górował nad Jamajczykiem techniką i konsekwencją.
Na korcie Brown zwraca uwagę nie tylko wzrostem. Nosi długie dredy, których nie powstydziłby się żaden muzyk reggae. Zainteresowanie wzbudziły też jego sznurówki: jedna w kolorze pomarańczowym a druga limonowa oraz żółte opaski na rękach. W ostatnim bastionie tenisowej tradycji, jakim jest Wimbledon, to rzadko spotykana ekstrawagancja. Browna wyróżniała grupa żywiołowych fanów powiewająca wielkim banerem z napisem "Dustin wygrywa!".
Wielki skok w jeden rok
Brown nie bierze udziału w Wimbledonie dzięki dzikiej karcie od organizatorów - sam się do niego zakwalifikował.
Równo przed rokiem, w czerwcu, Brown znajdował się w okolicach 370. miejsca w rankingu ATP i nie mógł pomarzyć o grze choćby w kwalifikacjach prestiżowego turnieju. Zamiast tego grał w futuresach o puli nagród wynoszącej 10 tysięcy dolarów, w niemieckich Furth i Oberstaufen.
Zbierał punkt do punktu i systematycznie piął się w górę. Wygrał challengery w Johannesburgu i kazachskiej Samarkandzie, w kilku innych dochodził do finałów. Krok po kroku, przyjmując taktykę podobną do Michała Przysiężnego, doszedł do pierwszej setki rankingu ATP. 17 maja tego roku awansował na 99. pozycję, najwyższą w karierze. Obecnie sklasyfikowany jest trzy miejsca niżej.
Jamajczyk u boku Murray'a?
Przykład Browna pokazuje, że nie jest łatwo być tenisistą z Jamajki. - Nie dostaję z Federacji żadnych funduszy, szkolenia, jakiejkolwiek pomocy. Nie można nazwać wsparciem maila, którego dostałem dwa dni temu, z gratulacjami za otrzymanie dzikiej karty w Wimbledonie - skarży się Brown, który, powtórzmy, dzikiej karty nie dostał, bo jej nie potrzebował. - Nie wykonują swojej pracy i wszyscy to wiedzą - zarzuca rodzimym działaczom i myśli o startach w barwach Wielkiej Brytanii! Zaczął już nawet przeglądać rodowód ojca, by znaleźć korzenie, umożliwiające mu ubieganie się o obywatelstwo. - Czekam na ruch ze strony brytyjskiej federacji. Jeśli są zainteresowani, muszą zrobić krok w moim kierunku - tłumaczył Brown zainteresowanym dziennikarzom.
Sprawa nie jest wcale tak anegdotyczna jak się w pierwszym momencie wydaje. Na Wyspach od lat zmagają się z poważnym tenisowym kryzysem. Andy Murray jest czwartym zawodnikiem świata, ale kolejny reprezentant Wielkiej Brytanii, Alex Bogdanovic, jest dopiero 172., równo siedemdziesiąt pozycji za Brownem.
Czy już niedługo Jamajczyk będzie drugą rakietą Zjednoczonego Królestwa w Davis Cupowej reprezentacji? Wkrótce się przekonamy. Sam Brown nie przejmuje się przegraną z Melzerem. - Do zobaczenia w przyszłym roku, kolego - rzucił mu ktoś z trybun po meczu, na co gracz odpowiedział promiennym, karaibskim uśmiechem.
Newport: rewelacja z Jamajki
Tylko dwóch tenisistów rozstawionych znalazło się w ćwierćfinałach turnieju na trawiastych kortach w Newport. Największą niespodzianką drugiej rundy była porażką rozstawionego z numerem jeden Sama Querreya z Jamajczykiem Dustinem Brownem. Ze zmaganiami pożegnali się w środę także Santiago Giraldo (nr 2) oraz broniący tytułu Rajeev Ram (nr 7).
21. na świecie Querrey był jedynym tenisistom w drabince turniejowej z czołowej pięćdziesiątki rankingu. W tym roku wygrał on silnie obsadzone zawody na kortach trawiastych w Queen’s Club, a w ubiegłym roku osiągnął finał w Newport. Nic więc dziwnego, iż w tegorocznej edycji imprezy uznawany był za zdecydowanego faworyta. Plany reprezentantowi gospodarzy już w drugiej rundzie pokrzyżował 25-letni reprezentant Jamajki.
Dustin Brown w zaledwie 47 minut zwyciężył 6:4, 6:3. 108. w rankingu Jamajczyk miał w tym spotkaniu aż 14 asów i nie dopuścił rywala do chociażby jednej szansy na breaka. Brown odnotował natomiast stuprocentową skuteczność wykorzystanych okazji na przełamanie (3 na 3). Trenujący na co dzień w Niemczech tenisista po raz drugi zapewnił sobie miejsce w ćwierćfinale turnieju ATP Tour. W lutym osiągnął on tą fazę zawodów w Johannesburgu.
„Chwała jemu,” powiedział o swoim rywalu Querrey. „W jego gemach serwisowych nigdy nie było więcej niż dwóch uderzeń. Ciężko było znaleźć rytm w takiej sytuacji, a przy moim podaniu popełniłem kilka podwójnych błędów, natomiast on popisywał się potężnymi kończącymi forhendami.”
Mniejszego formatu niespodzianką jest porażka Santiago Giraldo. Kolumbijczyk rozgrywa swój najlepszy sezon w karierze, ale korty trawiaste nie są jego preferowaną nawierzchnią. W środę uległ on brytyjskiemu kwalifikantowi Richardowi Bloomfieldowi 3:6, 6:7(5). Dla 27-latka z Norwich ćwierćfinał turnieju Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships to największy sukces w karierze. Tenisista ten zajmuje aktualnie 552 miejsce w rankingu.
Formą w Newport imponuje Mardy Fish, który w swoich dwóch pierwszych spotkaniach stracił łącznie pięć gemów! W drugiej rundzie doświadczony reprezentant gospodarzy pokonała Somdeva Devvarmana 6:2, 6:0. Mecz trwał 66 minut, a Amerykanin wykorzystał w nim pięć z czternastu szans na przełamanie, ani razu nie tracąc własnego serwisu.
„Za każdym razem kiedy osiągniesz szybko prowadzenie jest to korzystna sytuacja, oczywiście zawsze lepiej utrzymywać prowadzenie niż gonić rywala,” stwierdził po meczu Fish. „Na tym korcie, jeżeli jesteś w stanie utrzymać koncentracje, jeżeli możesz za każdym razem bronić własnego podania, wtedy wiesz, że możesz osiągnąć dobry wynik. W dwóch pierwszych meczach bardzo dobrze returnowałem, więc jestem zadowolony z tego.”
Wyniki drugiej rundy:
Dustin Brown (Jamajka) - Sam Querrey (USA, 1) 6:4, 6:3
Richard Bloomfield (Wielka Brytania, Q) - Santiago Giraldo (Kolumbia, 2) 6:3, 7:6(5)
Mardy Fish (USA, 5) - Somdev Devvarman (Indie) 6:2, 6:0
Newport Biofile with Dustin Brown
Status: ATP #102. Reached his second ATP quarterfinal in 2010 in Newport. Reached second round at this year’s Wimbledon.
Ht: 6-5 Wt: 180
DOB: December 8, 1984 In: Celle, Germany
First Tennis Memory: “The courts back at home where I started playing in Germany. It’s a long time ago.”
Nicknames: “Just one – Dreddy.”
Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “Listen to music all day basically. I’m on my computer a lot. Catching up with friends online.”
Tennis Inspirations: “As in idols? Early on, when they were still playing – Noah, Safin. Mainly those two. Agassi.”
Last Book Read: “Dan Brown, Illuminati.”
Favorite Movies: “I watched Karate Kid this week. Pretty good movie. Pretty much everything Denzel Washington was in. He’s a really good actor, so.”
Favorite TV Show: “Californication.”
Musical Tastes: “Hip-hop, R&B, Lil Wayne, Drake.”
First Job: “Tennis [laughs].”
First Car: “Camper Volkswagen.”
Current Car: “Camper (white).”
Pre-Match Feeling: “It always varies. Never the same. It always varies, depends on where I am, who I have around me, who’s with me.”
Favorite Meal: “No favorite meal actually.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Vanilla.”
Childhood Dream: “I was always tennis. Never been anything else.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “Winning the $100,000 Challenger in South Africa, Soweto (d. Izak van der Merwe 76 63). This year. (Why?) It’s the biggest win of my career, that got me closest to the top 100. And it’s a really great feeling winning there in Soweto, with the whole thing going on there with blacks and whites.”
Most Painful Moment: “Probably losing 0-0 to Jerome Haehnel in Basel on center court, three years ago. 0-0 indoors. Shouldn’t be 0-0 with my serve. (What happened that day?) I have no idea. Everything. And nothing [smiles].”
Which Matches Did You Feel At Your Very Best: “Under all the terms, the Querrey match in Newport. It’s a grass court, short match (64 63 in 47 minutes). Definitely served unbelievable – first serves won – 33 out of 34 – 97%. One point that when I put a first serve in that he made a point on my serve. First serve percentage 66%. That’s very good. I don’t think I’m going to have a day where I serve 80 or 90%. That’s probably not going to happen. I’m pretty happy to serve 60-70%, especially on these courts.”
Closest Tennis Friends: “American guys, Armitraj family, Rajeev Ram and a bunch of German guys – Stadler, Phau, Bozo (Bozoljac).”
Funniest Players Encountered: “Probably that’s some of the guys you hang around with. If you don’t hang around with anyone, the guy can’t be funny.”
Toughest Competitors Encountered: “I would say everybody. Because no one wants to lose, everybody wants to win. So they’re basically always fighting. No one gives it easy to you.”
Embarrassing Tennis Memory: “Nope.”
Strangest Match: “No, none of that Mahut stuff [smiles].”
Favorite Players To Watch: “Watching my friends at a tournament. There’s not anyone I would say that I would prefer to watch. The guys that I hang around with at the tournaments.”
Favorite Sport Outside Tennis: “Nothing.”
Last Vacation: “Never vacation. I would say tennis. Although I wouldn’t say it’s a vacation. Or I could say it’s always a vacation [smiles].”
The Long Journey: “It’s been a really long journey. Basically started – I was living two years in Jamaica where I was gonna play Futures. My parents were thinking of ways of how they can keep me going and playing. My parents aren’t rich or anything, they were like, What can we do? My mom came up with the idea about the camper. Now the investment has paid off. It was hard just traveling with a camper the whole time, living in there, practicing. It’s not easy when you’re beginning your 20′s and you’re still young. It’s not exactly the ideal way to play tennis. But it definitely worked out and got me through a couple of tough times which definitely helps me on the court.”
People Qualities Most Admired: “Nice, friendly people who like to have fun.”
Dustin Brown is, without a doubt, the most exciting player in tennis
Through the years, I have talked about players I like watching play. Not the pattern players who hit from the baseline and almost seem to follow a mathematical equation to their shots. But the spontaneous emotional, brilliant shot-makers like John McEnroe, Henri Leconte, Boris Becker, Pat Rafter, Andrew Ilie and Jeff Salzenstein. Now, I have another favorite player: Dustin Brown of Jamaica. If you have not seen this 6-foot-4, dredlocks halfway-down-his-back, smashing server, swinging volleyer, shot-maker extroadinaire, than you, my friend, have not seen tennis as it’s supposed to be played, in my book anyway.
I remember back in the 1980′s when I did an article on Arthur Ashe for the New York Times, Ashe said that if the best black athletes could be recruited to play tennis we could see the spectacle of a Dr. J playing tennis at the highest level. That is exactly what watching Dustin Brown is all about. The guy is as skinny as any player you’ll ever see, but lightning quick and he never hits a shot to set up another shot. Every shot he hits is for a winner.
Here’s a few of the other charms about Brown: he’s Jamaican, which if you know that country’s sporting history, she does not produce tennis greats; he asks for the ball back from the ballgirl after every winner he hits and he uses that ball for the next serve; he never sat down during a changeover in his 6-3, 6-2 decimation of Sam Querrey yesterday; he puts any ball that goes awry in his pocket like a public parks player; he won one service game in 24 seconds, the time it takes Nadal to serve one ball; and he does flying fist-pumps and talks with a German-inflected English, as he is half-German.
Here’s part of the AP report of the match:
Querrey, ranked 19th and a three-time winner on the tour this season, was beaten 6-4, 6-3 in just 47 minutes.
Brown won 33 of 34 of his first-serve points and claimed his first win over a Top 20 player.
Brown, ranked in the 400s a year ago, relied on a quick pace and big serve to frustrate the leading player from the United States in the tournament. He had 14 aces.
“Half the time I was walking over to the other side and the ball was in the air for him to serve,” Querrey said of Brown’s fast approach.
The 25-year-old Jamaican took control by breaking Querrey to go up 3-2 in the fifth game of the second set, winning with a well-placed drop shot at the net.
“I wasn’t expecting to break him. I knew I was serving well,” Brown said. “When I broke him, I just wanted to continue to serve well. Everything just struck together for me. It’s going to take a while to sink in.”
Both players held serve and Brown led 4-3 at the changeover. He didn’t sit during the break, came back out and closed the eighth game with three straight aces.”
Brown is a phenomenon and you must run, not walk, to any match he plays. It was said that McEnroe and Connors broke down the barriers of tennis being seen as a country club sport, but Brown makes Mac and Jimbo look like club elite with his different-colored shoelaces, his long dred hair that makes Yannick Noah’s old do look tame, and his continental forehand and ultra-quick strike tennis.
US Open 2010 - wywiad po porażce w 2 rundzie
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. You looked like you enjoyed yourself out there today.
DUSTIN BROWN: Yeah, I thought it was gonna be a little bit more nerve wracking going on a big court like that. Went out there and actually felt pretty well. Kind of got upset that the rain came, because I was actually feeling a lot better than I thought it was gonna be.Yeah, the first set was really -- it went really well. Yeah, Andy came up with some great shots at 5 All to break me. And, you know, if the first set if I would have gotten through the first set maybe winning the first set, the other sets maybe would have gone a little different. I realize that after he won the first set he got more comfortable and more of confident, and definitely gave me a lot harder time on my serve.
Q. In your box, they were shouting, You can really do it if you want to do it. But you didn't do it, at least this time. Do you think you ran out of gas or confidence? I mean, Ashe Stadium, seeing a lot of people, did it mess with your psyche?
DUSTIN BROWN: No, actually. I actually felt pretty comfortable in there. I wasn't, like I said, not as bad as I thought it was gonna be. Yeah, my friends, of course, I mean, they were cheering for me. In the beginning, you know, I thought I was, you know, staying with him, and he came up with a really good game breaking me at 5 All. First of all, it's not bad losing to Andy Murray. I'm definitely not upset. That's why it was a good first set. The other two sets, you know, he started getting more comfortable and definitely returning really well. The break in the first set, I hit two or three good first serves, and he put them long in. Then it starts it's really hard if I'm just playing with a second serve against him. The wind definitely didn't help me or my serving. Yeah, that's it.
Q. What are the things you think you need to work on if you could do this to beat Andy Murray?
DUSTIN BROWN: Well, returns, second serves, and stuff like that, you know, just because he was giving me such a hard time, even when I was putting the first serve in, that he was returning really well. Definitely just, you know, getting the ranking up to play against these guys more often. Just has to become a everyday thing. So it's not like every three or four months I play against a guy like his stature. Then will definitely feel more comfortable outside of the court and not feel bad or, you know, nervous or anything like that.
Q. With very little Grand Slam experience, only played in one other, to find yourself on a stadium like Arthur Ashe and playing one of the top players in the world, did it feel somewhat surreal? What did it mean to you to be in that theater?
DUSTIN BROWN: I was actually very happy that I got to play in there. A lot of people, they play and they never get to play in a stadium like that with a lot of people and playing against someone like Andy. I'm very happy that I got the chance. I tried my best out there today, and that's why I'm just happy. I can't be upset after having a tournament like this, playing well in New Haven, beating three good guys in the quallies there, and then beating Ramirez Hidalgo here. It's just been two good weeks in the States. Hopefully when I get back to Europe I can keep connecting the dots and keep playing like this.
Q. You never played Andy before?
DUSTIN BROWN: No.
Q. Talk about him as a player. What were your thoughts on his game?
DUSTIN BROWN: Well, I only know him from watching him on TV. Basically when I went out I wasn't worrying about him too much. I just tried to play my game and make sure that I'm doing the things I'm supposed to do. I wasn't trying to go out there and worrying too much about the opponent. If you do that, then you just gonna go nuts out there. So I just tried to stay calm and play my game. I lost 5, 3, and 0. It happens. In the first set, definitely. I mean, I realized I was staying with him, I was serving well, and especially my first serve. I was hitting the targets in the beginning. And even all of the rallies, as soon as I had a chance to go for my forehand, I actually did that pretty well in the beginning. Only thing is that he read my dropshots really well. I mean, I guess he got coached on that pretty well. As soon as I opened up the racquet to hit a dropshot, he was already inside the service line. So didn't make any points on that at all in the beginning.
Q. When you aced him twice in the first set, you must have felt pretty terrific.
DUSTIN BROWN: Well, I went to the net and I checked the mark. On the first one, I didn't know exactly where it landed; but on the second one, I walked up and I saw the mark. That's why I turned around. I knew it was in. I played with Hawk Eye before, and it's not you know, especially here, when you're serving with new balls, you can kind of see the marks on the lines. That's why one time when he aced me down the middle, I mean, I was waiting for a call; no one called it. They called it out actually, and I saw it was on the line. I just was waiting what he was gonna do. Then he called for Hawk Eye, I then walked straight over because I knew it was in. You could see the marks on the court.
Q. Can you talk about the length of the rallies? Seemed like you really had your success with Andy when you were able to keep the points short.
DUSTIN BROWN: Definitely that's my type of game, to try and keep the rallies short, maybe play serve and volley when I can. You know, my serve in the second and third set wasn't the first serve wasn't there. He's just a great returner. The longer the match went, he felt much more comfortable and definitely started returning better. That's why I stayed back most of the time.
Q. You seem to be an instant, like, crowd favorite. For this crowd to get behind you and embrace you like that, how did it feel?
DUSTIN BROWN: It was great. It was a great feeling. It was, first of all, great feeling to be on that court, and then playing against someone like Andy. It was a great feeling when you're out there and you're playing well, especially in the first set and there's people just screaming your name the whole time, it was just an unbelievable feeling. Like I said, I'm just gonna try and take these feelings and do everything I've experienced and learned here and carry on, and hopefully play well next couple weeks and end of the year get my ranking back inside the top 100 and even further so I can get back in the main drawn in most of the tour events and get into the main draw in Australia.
Q. Tough players have an intimidation factor because of their record coming into a court like this. He's played in major show courts around the world. When the match ran away, do you sense that his focus was so strong he imposes his character on the court?
DUSTIN BROWN: Well, like I said, I mean, he started you know, I think he was probably a little nervous because he wasn't, in the first set, exactly sure what he was up against, because, I mean, he hasn't seen me play. Basically I guess his coaches saw me play and told him what I play like, but he has never played against me. In the first set, like I said, if I would have won the first set, other two sets would have gone differently. After the first set, I had a feeling it started getting more windy out there, and that definitely didn't help my serve. He definitely served a lot better afterwards.
Q. Let's talk fashion. Your dreads are kickin'. I think they're adorable. They are. You have neon green shoe strings and the pink. Is that your fashion statement from now on?
DUSTIN BROWN: It's not pink, first of all. It's orange. It's orange, okay? It's not pink. Well, actually the story comes behind it that me and my friend I've told it a million times already -- but me and my friend were playing in January 2009, I think. Yeah, we played a future in Spain. We were packing at his house, and I found a bag with a bunch of weird neon colors. I said, If we play finals in the first tournament of doubles, we got to put them in the shoes. He's like, I don't know. Then we played finals, and he's like, Okay, let's put them in. We lost the finals. I kept them in there, and since then my ranking went from 450 to within the top 100. So every time I buy a new pair of shoes, I order the shoe laces. I don't go on the court unless they're in the shoes.
Q. I sense a neon lace endorsement deal in the your future?
DUSTIN BROWN: I'm ready.
Q. What's Murray like to play against now that you've had a match against him? He has this habit of like chasing down every ball, and never let's the opponents win easy points. Is that what you helped today?
DUSTIN BROWN: Basically the most thing, you know, which I've also known before, is that he's a very good returner. That definitely -- as the match progressed in the second and third set, I didn't get a lot of free points. I mean, I had only 49% of first serves. Normally if I'm serving well I'm between 60 and 70. And like I said, you know, he was returning really well and not giving me any free points. So that was basically every point I was in the rally and had to grind it out and not actually playing the game that I wanted to play. The problem was he was reading my dropshots really well, so that took away part of my game.
Q. Do you ever use the courtside chair?
DUSTIN BROWN: Pardon?
Q. You stand up at every changeover.
DUSTIN BROWN: Yeah, I started this actually, I don't know, two or three years ago. Because when I play, I play my best tennis when I'm a little bit more emotional and awake and everything. I always have the feeling when I sit down that my pulse and everything just goes down, so I just don't do it anymore.
Q. How much popularity do you get back home to make a country that's, you know, mostly about soccer and track and field, as a tennis player, do you feel that your popularity is growing back home?
DUSTIN BROWN: Definitely now it has. Like I said, in the last six, or I don't know how many years, I haven't gotten any support at all from the tennis federation. I wasn't recognized in the country at all. Two weeks ago I heard that there has been elected a new president, Aubyn Hill. I have sensed, since he has gotten into the office, that a lot of things have changed back home. My Facebook has been exploding. I mean, everybody from home, everybody I know they actually knew that I was playing here, that I won the first round and that I was playing against Murray. I didn't have to post anything anymore. Actually, I wasn't used to that, because normally when I played Wimbledon, I played against Melzer. Even if I lost, I had to post that I'm actually playing Wimbledon. No one at home knew. I had to call my dad to tell my dad in Jamaica that I'm playing Wimbledon. I hope my dad in Jamaica got a chance to watch my match today. A bunch of people, they're telling me you know, I saw my friend's post online. We're having a part tonight. Everybody come over to my house. We're watching Dustin play on the 40 inch screen. It was really funny. I hope guys at home enjoyed it.
Q. Are you as popular as Usain Bolt?
DUSTIN BROWN: Yeah, I hope so. I mean, there's more tennis tournaments than he runs in a year, so hopefully I'll get to that status sooner or later.
Q. Do you think this high profile here playing on Ashe, US Open, that's maybe gonna make your phone ring a little bit more? Are you any more secure about who you want to play for, UK, Germany, Jamaica?
DUSTIN BROWN: Oh, like I said, things have changed at home. I mean, I have been playing for Jamaica all my life, and that was actually what I wanted to do, play for Jamaica. Because first of all, to play for Germany, my other nationality from my mom, the ranking would have to be a lot higher for them to be interested in me playing Davis Cup or anything. The only reason I actually was thinking about not playing for Jamaica anymore was because nothing was happening at home with the federation. And now, like I said, new people are coming into office and things are changing, so I'm definitely looking forward to speaking to them, and also wanting to play for Jamaica. And the other thing with the LTA, I mean, they spoke to me everything was hyped up through the media in England, when I was playing Queen's and Wimbledon. Since then I haven't heard anything from them. I don't know. I guess they weren't interested as much as it was portrayed in the media.
Brown adds spark of colour to US Open
Colourful German-Jamaican Dustin Brown brought a bit of life to a relatively straightforward edition of the US Open during his brief week 1 stay.
Few were able to miss seeing the garish shoelaces used by the No. 123 during his loss in the second round to Andy Murray.
"They're not pink, they're orange, not pink," insisted the 26-year-old.
Brown, who also refuses to sit during changeover for fear of losing his energy and focus, says his shoelace story is old news: "Me and my friend were playing in January 2009 at a Futures in Spain, where I found a bag with a bunch of weird neon colors (shoelaces)
"I said that if we play the doubles final in the first tournament, we need to put them in the shoes. We lost the final but I kept them in there, and since then my ranking went from 450 to within the top 100."
That was enough of a sign for Brown. "Every time I buy a new pair of shoes, I order the shoe laces. I don't go on the court unless they're in there."
Czarował widzów w Nowym Jorku, w Polsce nie zdążył
Pupilek publiczności na US Open egzotyczny Dustin Brown nie zdążył zaskarbić sobie sympatii kibiców w Polsce. Rozstawiony z dziewiątką Jamajczyk już w drugiej rundzie Pekao Szczecin Open przegrał z Francuzem Vincentem Millotem 3:6, 3:6.
Widzów w Nowym Jorku rozkochał w sobie meczem drugiej rundy z Andym Murrayem. Zawodnik z Jamajki szybko stał się idolem kibiców z całego świata.
- Po tym meczu mój profil na Facebooku przeżywał straszne oblężenie. Nie nadążałem w odpisywaniu na maile. Wciąż dziwi mnie zainteresowanie kimś tak mało znanym jak ja, tym bardziej że gram w tenisa - mówił Brown.
Kibiców ujął swoim charakterystycznym, choć absolutnie zgodnym ze stereotypami dla Jamajczyków wyglądem, luzem i niezwykle barwną postawą na korcie.
O Dustinie Brownnie głośno zrobiło się w czerwcu, kiedy jako pierwszy Jamajczyk od 40 lat zagrał w Wimbledonie. Dotarł tylko do drugiej rundy, ale gazety pełne były jego zdjęć. Mierzący 196 cm tenisista rzuca się w oczy za sprawą dredów na głowie i kolorowych sznurówek w butach.
Matka 25-letniego Browna jest Niemką, ojciec pochodzi z Jamajki. Zawodnik stara się jednak o paszport brytyjski, bo jak sam mówi, nie ma za dużego wsparcia od rodzimej federacji. Własnymi siłami zdążył już przebić się do pierwszej setki ATP.
W Szczecinie wyluzowany Jamajczyk jednak nie zachwycił i przeszedł obok meczu z Millotem. Potem przeprosił, że nie może udać się na konferencję prasową, ale zaraz miał grać debla, a zapomniał ubrań na zmianę.
Dustin przyjął obywatelstwo niemieckie.
Had A Long Day
Traveling & In The Train Now On The Way 2 Nürnberg... There Also Has
Been A Change, I Am Playing 4 Germany Starting This Week In Eckental. This Is My New Fan Page...
Hoping I Will Have The Same Amount Of Following & Support From U
Guys... Thx, Dustin
Szkoda. :P Tych Niemców trochę jest, a Jamajczyk był tylko 1 w czołówce. No ale pewnie pod wieloma względami mu się to opłaci. ;)
DUN I LOVE napisał:
No ale pewnie pod wieloma względami mu się to opłaci. ;)
Mówisz o wyższych podatkach? :P
Może mieć paszport niemiecki, ale i tak będzie dla wszystkich Jamajczykiem. Podobnie sprawa ma się ze Zvereviem (Rosjanin - przyjął obywatelstwo niemieckie). :-)
W sumie zgadzam się z Jaccolem, ale mimo wszystko trochę szkoda.
Dustin nie jest jedynym, który zmienił swoje obywatelstwo w tym roku. Nowozelandczykiem został (dawniej Amerykanin) Michael Venus a Bośniakiem stał się (również dawniej Amerykanin) Amer Delić.
15.11.2010r.
Po efektownym sukcesie w Aachen:
R32 Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 286 W 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4
R16 Adrien Bossel (SUI) 366 W 7-5, 6-4
Q Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) 688 W 6-1, 6-1
S Rajeev Ram (USA) 158 W 6-3, 7-6(4)
W Igor Sijsling (NED) 145 W 6-3, 7-6(3)
Dustin Brown zajmuje dziś 93 pozycję w rankingu, najwyższą w karierze. ;)
Zmiana obywatelstwa i od razu zwycięstwo w swoim "nowym" kraju. Może inni zawodnicy też powinni pomyśleć o zmianie obywatelstwa? :P
jaccol55 napisał:
Zmiana obywatelstwa i od razu zwycięstwo w swoim "nowym" kraju. Może inni zawodnicy też powinni pomyśleć o zmianie obywatelstwa? :P
To chyba tylko w przypoadku Niemców działa. Ichniejsza Kadra piłkarska zna masę takich przypadków. Wszyscy po otrzymaniu literek GER przed nazwiskiem zacyznają grać jak oszalali. :P
2010 w liczbach
Ranking: 92 (najwyżej w karierze)
Turnieje: 0
Finały: 0
Mecze: 6-10
Zarobki: $228,487
Getting to know - Dustin Brown.
Dustin Brown is one of those players who doesn't quite fit the mould. After recently playing under the Jamaican flag, the German world number 109 hired best friend and car-crash survivor Daniel Puttkammer to be his coach as he prepares for his first ever French Open appearance.
With his red vest and flying dreadlocks, 26-year-old Dustin Brown looks slightly out of place training out on court no.14. Complete with shaved head and baggy basketball shorts, Coach Daniel Puttkammer strikes an equally unorthodox figure, so it is hardly surprising the pair have built up a reputation on the tour for standing out from the crowd. Puttkammer admits the accusation: "It's true, but Dustin's the one who's really different. With the way he looks and plays on court, he's got something new. Dustin likes being a showman, not just for the fans, but for himself. He needs it. And tennis needs more people like him!"
The player with the huge talent, big attitude and frequent outbursts also goes by the nickname Dready, and he also pleads guilty as charged. "I like getting people worked up, I like feeling the energy from the stands. I feed off it. It's good, because I get the feeling that's what the French crowd likes."
After making it to the quarter-finals in Johannesburg and Newport, and defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in Munich this year, Brown, ranked world no.109, now feels he is ready to break through into the highest echelons of the game. It is even written on his website: "A man with the desire to do something… can do anything!"
"Dready" and his camping car
That has been Brown's motto from an early age, and the 26-year-old has shown remarkable determination on his path to the ATP circuit.
After learning the game in Jamaica, Brown criss-crossed Europe in a camping car for years in search of ranking points. According to his coach, who is also his best friend, "He had no support, no money. It was rough."
Puttkammer and Brown met at a tennis academy near Hanover. At the time, 18-year-old Puttkammer was one of the top 100 players in Germany, dreaming of a professional career. That dream was shattered one fateful day, when the youngster was involved in a terrible car crash, tore his spleen and ended up with three litres of blood in his stomach. "I nearly died. The doctors said it was a miracle," he explained. Three weeks of hospital and a year of physiotherapy later, he picked up his racket, but not where he left off...
A reunion of old friends
Meanwhile, Dready was making progress. After taking the Futures tournaments by storm in his camping car, he progressed to the Challengers and entered the top 100 with something approaching flamboyance. It was then, in September 2010, that he decided to put his prize money to good use and give his old friend Puttkammer a call. "I'd never had a coach before, and I thought maybe it was time to get one," recalls Dustin. "Who better to call than an old friend?"
Puttkammer's dream is now becoming reality - even if it is vicariously. "It's great to experience this with Dustin. And two pairs of eyes are better than one. I see things he doesn't see. He has so many strong points, it's easy to build an arsenal. No-one is faster than him when he hits off one of his cannonballs. He just needs to be more consistent."
Brown's racket speed is out of this world, and his volley more than acceptable. He has a feel for the game, and always gives it everything. Now he just needs to keep his focus, and with a tough match against Argentinean Leonardo Mayer on Monday, he will be put to the test. "After that, the draw is open - anything's possible," says Dready. For this very Jamaican German, it is about living up to his motto.