Nadal crashes out of Wimbledon

Dustin Brown of Germany shakes hands with Rafael Nadal of Spain after winning their match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

Dustin Brown of Germany shakes hands with Rafael Nadal of Spain after winning their match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

Published Jul 2, 2015

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London - Two-times champion Rafa Nadal crashed out in the second round of Wimbledon on Thursday after being out-muscled and out-thought in four sets by an inspired Dustin Brown of Germany.

The Spaniard, who has slipped down the sport's pecking order and was seeded 10 after a year of injury and below-par performances, fell 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-4 as Brown, ranked 102 in the world, unleashed a barrage of thunderous serves and ground strokes, mixed with clever drop shots.

Brown, who had beaten Nadal in the pair's only other meeting, looked to rush the Spaniard from the start, blasting winners at every opportunity and squeezing Nadal at the net to cut off his options in an unorthodox style that had the Wimbledon crowd in raptures.

Qualifier Brown, who sealed victory with a thumping ace, heads into the third round at Wimbledon for the second time, equalling his best Grand Slam performance.

Since finishing runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the 2011 final, Spanish former world number one Nadal has now failed to advance past the last 16 of the grasscourt major as he lost to a qualifier for the first time in any grand slam.

Reuters

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