The Sunday Mail
BOUNDLESS JOY . . .
Dustin Brown
Success was never likely to go to the unmistakable head of Dustin Brown.
When you have travelled around the European lower-level circuit in a Volkswagen campervan surviving on a diet of pasta and complimentary sandwiches for four years it is going to provide a certain perspective on life that will not be shifted now the 30-year-old is the new darling of SW19.
Rafael Nadal’s scalp has been claimed by a player outside the top 100 in the three previous years, but none were like this — a German-Jamaican Rastafarian with a YouTube list of trick shots almost as long as his dreadlocks that have been grown continuously since 1996.
Previously an object of curiosity, Brown was turned into an object of near obsession for broadcasters from Albania to America. Questions ranged from his hair, which was last cut in 1996, his tattoo on his torso of his father, Leroy, which took eight hours, his British grandmother (not in contact, not an issue) and, of course, the VW campervan.
Apart from the avalanche of interview requests, little in his routine changed.
When he woke up the other day, his phone contained several dozen texts of congratulations, including from Tim Sandkaulen, a German junior player whom he had provided Centre Court tickets. Brown replied asking him to come down to the practice courts for a quick hit, which the 17-year-old joyfully did.
“His drop shots are unreal,” Sandkaulen said afterwards. “You cannot see it when he plays it. This guy is just unreal. His trick shots are…it’s a joke, actually. Did you see the first game yesterday? It was unreal.
“That’s why he’s so dangerous for all the players because you don’t know what’s coming. Even in practice, sometimes he hits a drop shot out of nowhere then he hits a forehand in defence.”
The mystery is how a player so talented, so unorthodox and so at ease with himself has not broken through until after turning 30.
This was only the second time that he had reached the third round of a grand slam tournament. His highest career ranking is 45.
Now ranked 101, Brown has picked up only US$40 167 in prize money this year, a total that will be swelled by the £77 000 he is guaranteed for reaching the third round, where he will face Victor Troicki, the 22nd seed, who is a familiar opponent.
“We both know what we are going to get,” Brown said. “He’s a tough player on this surface so we have to go out and see what we bring to the table on that given day.”
Clearly Brown relishes the big stage and he is unfazed about why it has taken this long to reach the limelight.
“I guess it just takes a long time for everything to fall in place and maybe three, four, five or six years ago, I wasn’t ready for it. Who knows for whatever reason.
“The things that are happening now, I try to enjoy it as much as I can and hopefully they keep coming and not worry about what could have been or what should have been?”
If that laid-back attitude can be attributed to his Jamaican side then he has many other Teutonic characteristics.
“I very much care about being punctual and I really don’t like it if somebody is late.”
Born in Celle, West Germany, on December 8, 1984 to Inge and Leroy, Brown moved to his father’s birth country, Jamaica, in 1996. His paternal grandmother was born in Britain, technically making him eligible for the GB Davis Cup team had he not made his debut for Jamaica in a match against Bolivia in 2003
He often found himself the target of racist bullies while still in Germany.
“The village next to my town was infamous for being a Nazi stronghold,” he explained. “We were three or four coloured kids around and sometimes the other ones showed up with knives after school. That’s why I had some punch-ups in primary school.”
Even now Brown receives abuse on social media, although, like Heather Watson, he attributes that to gamblers venting their spleen.
“It’s a shame when people nowadays attack me on the Internet, but I guess most of the time it has got something to do with betting stuff,” Brown said. “I try to be patient but, from time to time, I have tell them what I think. Perhaps people who criticise me should show up right after a match — this would have a different outcome.” — Telegraph.
