A Tennis Phenomenon In The Making
 Long before Usain Bolt (the world’s sprint king) came along and changed global perceptions, Jamaica was most famous for its Reggae music and Bob Marley but, now there’s another name vying for the spotlight in the category of sport. And, refreshingly if not somewhat surprisingly, this name is not emerging from the usual arenas of sport such as athletics, cricket, football or even basketball but… from the very esteemed threshold of Tennis comes Dustin Brown. TENNIS… that’s relatively unchartered territory for ‘People of Colour’ which only serves to increase the intensity of interested parties. Ok, so we have the Williams Sisters who have been at the pinnacle of the game for well over a decade and then there’s James Blake, Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga but, aside from these, you’d be hard pushed to find Black tennis players of any real note in the open era. In fact, you’d have to go way back to ‘70s and ‘80s to the days of Arthur Ashe and Yannick Noah if you’re searching for male players of any prominence! But, what’s even more remarkable is the realisation that Jamaica actually plays tennis to the point where they can produce a future champion (albeit with the help of Germany, the native country of Dustin’s mother).
Dustin Brown is the highest ranked player to ever emerge from the little island of Jamaica. He’s now sitting at #99 in Singles on the ATP Rankings which means he has automatically qualified for direct entry into the main draw at Wimbledon (one of his main goals). He’s also doing extremely well in Doubles having just won a tournament in Germany - his third title from six finals this year alone…!! Standing tall at 6’ 5”, the similarities to Bolt are all but ended here… for now at least… as methinks it won’t be too long before he’ll be enjoying the same kind of recognition afforded to his more illustrious sporting colleague. He said recently… “five months ago I’d go to Jamaica and go through Customs and it would be a hassle getting into my own country even though I am the number one tennis player from the country. If Usain Bolt  comes, of course he’s a lot bigger than me; he probably doesn’t have to go through Customs at all. Now that my ranking has gone up, I have been getting a little more media attention in Jamaica”. The 25-year-old Brown created quite a stir when he played at the SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg earlier this year where he reached the quarter-final of the ATP World Tour event. Doug Burke, whose best ATP Ranking was #175, is the only other Jamaican player to ever reach this stage which, he did at Wellington in 1989. On Dustin's second trip to Johannesburg, South Africa in 2010, he won the Soweto Open Singles Trophy (a Challenger event) and hence his global popularity grew even more.
Sporting dreadlocks (and the Jamaican flag), the tall, lean figure of Brown commands full attention on the court with his athletic, serve and volley game but, his attraction goes way beyond this as he’s often compared to the legend Bob Marley because of his looks (being Mixed Race and all). Yep, you guessed it, invariably a Marley song can be heard blaring out of the speakers just before Dustin takes to the courts. Born in Celle, Germany on 8 December 1984 to his Jamaican father Leroy and German mother Inge, he lived in the country until 1996 when, he moved to Jamaica. After finishing high school, he played Futures (first level tournaments) in Jamaica until 2004 after which, he moved back to Europe. He would drive himself to Futures and Challengers (second tier tournaments) in a Camper Van his parents had bought for him. He feels that his eight years in Jamaica had a significant impact on his personal and professional development. “It was good to see a harder side of life. It was good for me personally, mentally and also for my game to get a little tougher and not to whine about everything which, you tend to do if you get pampered all the time. In Jamaica there was not a lot of pampering”.
This week (7 June 2010) Brown arrives in the UK to play the AEGON Championships at the Queens Club in London (an ATP World Tour event) for the very first time. He’s in the main  draw and there’ll be real excitement from certain quarters if he makes the third round as he’ll (hopefully) get to play none other than Rafael Nadal…!! The undisputed ‘King of Clay’ won his fifth French Open crown at Roland Garros on Sunday (6 June) and all eyes are firmly fixed on him… so, you can just imagine if Dustin plays a good game… he’ll be on Centre Court, prime time TV... gripping stuff..!! Just like the French Junior Gianni Mina had captured most people’s attention when he played Rafa in the first round of this French Open, the tongues will be wagging, pens scribbling and the cameras flashing… Go Dustin, make the third round and create a little bit of history for yourself in the UK. Then it’s on to the BIG one…. Wimbledon and, again, we’ll wait with bated breath to see how our Dustin fairs.
Watch out for the full length interview with Dustin coming soon…
Check the LINKS Page (his picture) to go directly to Dustin’s website.
UPDATE
Dustin didn’t make the third round at the AEGON - Queens tourney but, he played a very good match against Denis Istomin going down 7:6 (7), 6:4 in a very tight and entertaining match. Still, I guess our Dustin got a bit nervous playing only his second match on grass in the UK. Many of the games went to deuce but he couldn’t surge ahead and eventually, he lost by a mere 5 points. However, one of the highlights of his day was his interview with the BBC and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)’s strong interest in his eligibility to play Davis Cup for GB. BBC Sports host, Sue Barker even suggested that the LTA made enquiries as to whether Dustin would be interested in actually making an allegiance to Team GB but, we’re sure he would much rather hoist the JA flag as he’s a very proud Jamaican who’d want to follow in the footsteps of national hero Usain Bolt …. besides, that challenge alone is enough to keep him keen. So, the countdown is on for the start of Wimbledon… and Mr Brown’s presence on the mown lawns once again…
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