04 July,2015 08:37 AM IST | | Agencies
Ten things you didn't know about Rafael Nadal's Wimbledon conquerer Dustin Brown
Dustin Brown
> He is nicknamed 'Dreddy' because of his dreadlocked hair, which he has not cut for 19 years.
> The German tennis ace was bought a VW camper van by his parents, which he used to travel around European tournaments from 2004 to 2007. He often stopped at laundrettes to wash his own clothes during this phase. It took Brown's parents six years to pay off the loan on the camper van and the week after they made the final payment in 2010, Brown cracked the top 100 for the first time.
> The World No 102 strung racquets for five Euros apiece for players at Futures events to make some extra money to support his tennis career.
> Brown has been beaten in the first round of nine tournaments in 2015.
> Until his victory over Rafael Nadal, Brown had never beaten a seeded player at a Grand Slam in five previous attempts.
> Brown is one of the rare players to be undefeated against Nadal. They have played just once before - at the Halle Open in 2014 when he won 6-4, 6-1.
> Dustin Brown had never set foot on Wimbledon's Centre Court before launching his stunning upset of Nadal in the famous arena on Thursday. In fact, when Wimbledon authorities offered to take him to the court before the Nadal match, he refused as he thought he would panic.
> Brown currently competes on the tour without a coach as he cannot afford one.
> He has multiple piercings, including one to his tongue.
> He carries a large tattoo of the face of father Leroy on the left side of his stomach, which he got last year.Brown lifted his shirt to show off the etching in recognition of their contribution on a journey that had paid off at last with victory over Nadal.
