Dustin Brown loses at Wimbledon two days after upsetting Rafael Nadal
LONDON (AP) — The curse of beating Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon has struck again.
Dustin Brown, the German qualifier with the dreadlocks who surprisingly beat the two-time Wimbledon champion in the second round on Centre Court, lost Saturday in his very next match.
He is the fourth man in a row to eliminate Nadal early at the All England Club and then fail to advance in the next round. All four were ranked outside the top 100 in the world.
"Obviously having the pleasure and being able to play on Centre Court and then to play a match like that (on Thursday), doesn't make a difference if I lost today or not, no one will ever be able to take that away from me," said Brown, who lost to 22nd-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3.
Before the 102nd-ranked Brown, Nadal lost to No. 100 Lukas Rosol in the second round in 2012, to No. 135 Steve Darcis in the first round in 2013, and to No. 144 Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round in 2014.
Brown, whose father is Jamaican and mother is German, reached the third round at the All England Club for the second time in his career, but he has never been any further. He also made it that far in 2013.
It was this year that he made a name for himself in the tennis world, however.
Although Nadal has been struggling this season and was eliminated from the French Open in the quarterfinals for only his second loss ever at Roland Garros, he was still expected to get past the 30-year-old Brown at Wimbledon. But Brown's play at the net troubled Nadal throughout their match, and sent the Spaniard home early for the fourth year in a row.
On Saturday, Brown couldn't replicate his game.
Also Saturday, Former top-ranked player Jelena Jankovic beat defending Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 on Centre Court, coming back from a set and a break down to reach the fourth round at the All England Club for the first time since 2010.
For Kvitova, it was her earliest exit at Wimbledon since losing in the first round in 2009. Besides her two titles, she has also reached the semifinals and twice made the quarterfinals.
Roger Federer had no such trouble, despite losing a set. The seven-time champion beat Sam Groth of Australia 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 to reach the fourth round.
Groth did have his moments, including a 147-mph serve that is the second fastest in Wimbledon history. Federer didn't return it, but he managed to get some racket on it, making it a service winner instead of an ace.
"I think it's about keeping a short backswing on the return, trying to see it," Federer said of his tactics against the big-serving Australian. "And then also sometimes guessing the right way at the right times, remembering patterns where he's gone to, where he's been successful, and where not."
In late matches, 2013 Wimbledon champion Andy Murray beat Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-2, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 on Centre Court, and Gilles Simon outlasted Gael Monfils 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 6-2.
Wimbledon's marathon man fell short this time. John Isner, the American who won the longest tennis match in history in 2010, lost 12-10 in the fifth set to U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic. The Croat beat Isner 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 12-10 in a match that resumed Saturday at 10-10.
Isner beat Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set in that epic match five years ago.
Sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon runner-up, also advanced to the fourth round, as did Vasek Pospisil, No. 23 Ivo Karlovic and No. 20 Roberto Bautista Agut.
Also in the women's draw, fifth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the fourth round by beating Camila Giorgi of Italy 6-2, 6-2 and No. 20 Garbine Muguruza of Spain defeated 2012 semifinalist Angelique Kerber 7-6 (12), 1-6, 6-2. Wozniacki will face Muguruza on Monday.
Other winners include No. 13 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 15 Timea Bacsinszky, No. 21 Madison Keys, Olga Govortsova and Monica Niculescu.
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