Wimbledon's First Hero: Dustin Brown!

At Wimbledon today we have our first real hero of this year’s championship: 28-year-old Dustin Brown, dreadlocked, chilled, with his own wonderful take on the game.  

Coaching manuals are in the bin; Dustin plays naughty tennis. This afternoon he beat former champion Lleyton Hewitt in four sets; all through, he looked as relaxed and sunny as if he was having fun in the local park.

Born in Germany to father Leroy and mother Inge, in 1996 Dustin moved to Jamaica. His game’s based around serve and volley, sort of, but that’s not the full story. Today he pulled off a dazzling, mad variety of shots which simply don’t exist in any textbook. 

Ladling the ball over the net, delicate flips at crazy angles, a freakish compendium never seen before. Hewitt didn’t know what to do with him and after the shot that won the game, Dustin Brown’s grin would have powered the National Grid. 

Now, he can afford a new campervan to replace the old bus bought with mum and dad's help; usually he slogs around Europe scrapping at the less august levels of tennis. But for now Dustin, we’ll look forward to seeing you in the next round at SW19.