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Wimbledon 2015: Top 5 Upsets in Men’s Draw

By Geoff Nichols

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Jul 4, 2015; London, United Kingdom; Dustin Brown (GER) in action during his match against Viktor Troicki (SRB) on day six of The Championships Wimbledon at the AELTC. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

Upset Number 1

Second Round

Rafael Nadal [10] v Dustin Brown [Q]

Rafael Nadal might have felt like he had suffered his fair share of early losses at Wimbledon in recent years, but as soon as the draw was made, a potential second round meeting with Dustin Brown spelled danger. Brown had crushed the Spaniard in their only previous meeting, which was on the grass of Halle in 2014.

Brown is very much a journeyman of the ATP tour, having hovered around the 100 mark for the last couple of years. However, he is the man for the big occasion and looked from the outset to be confident of pulling off the unthinkable and putting Nadal out the event.

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Abandoning any self restraint, he was playing low percentage tennis and finding the court. On serve he was not only firing on his first delivery, but he was hitting second serves as hard if not harder than his first serves. The bravery to play such high risk tennis on the biggest stage was mesmerizing.

After the first set Nadal’s expression was already a concerned one. He was being outplayed by an inspired opponent, which must have been bringing back some painful memories. The 10th seed righted the ship in the second set, with many expecting him to cruise to victory.

The German qualifier was by no means finished. Rather than going into his shell, he was taking bigger swings. On the return, he was hitting clean winners that drew gasps from the crowd. The tighter things got, the more risks his was taking.

When he earned a decisive break in the fourth set, it was the first time the upset seemed like it could become a reality. If Brown had any nerves in what was by far the most high profile match of his career, it didn’t show. He served out the match with flair, condemning Nadal to a shock second round defeat.

Score: 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-4

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