3 Jul 2015

Nadal dumped out of Wimbledon

11:23 am on 3 July 2015

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

The German tennis player Dustin Brown at Wimbledon.

The German tennis player Dustin Brown at Wimbledon. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

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.

There were no problems for a number of other top players as Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Petra Kvitova cruised into the third round with straight-sets victories.

Murray led the way as he polished off Dutchman Robin Haase 6-1 6-1 6-4 in 87 minutes with barely a misplaced shot.

Federer was equally untroubled in a 6-4 6-2 6-2 mauling of American Sam Querrey.

Seeking a record eighth Wimbledon singles title, Federer was on cruise control from the off.

When he did find himself out of position he managed to manufacture a lob from between his legs that climbed over his 6ft 6ins (1.98m) opponent.

Possibly even more impressive was Kvitova, whose 6-2 6-0 demolition of Kurumi Nara meant the defending champion has dropped only three games in two matches.

After almost four full days of action the top four men's seeds have yet to drop a set between them, with only two going as far as a tiebreak.

It is a similar story on the women's side - Simona Halep apart - as the top three and number five Caroline Wozniacki, who advanced on Thursday, have also not dropped a set.

Meanwhile, all four doubles teams featuring New Zealanders have won their first round matches at Wimbledon, after victories by Michael Venus and his partner as well as Marina Erakovic in her match.

Venus and Croatian partner Mate Pavic won in four sets against Santiago Giraldo (Colombia) and Portugal's Joao Sousa, triumphing 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 in two hours. They will play Raven Klaasen (South Africa) and Rajeev Ram (USA) in the second round.

Erakovic and Brit partner Heather Watson defeated Ukraine's Nadiia Kichenok and Bojana Jovanovski from Switzerland in straight sets 6-4 7-6. They face the Spanish 16th seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Aranxta Parra Santonja in the second round.

Earlier Artem Sitak and Nicholas Monroe won their match in five sets the previous day, while Marcus Daniell and Brazilian partner Marcelo Demoliner were gifted a walkover and will face Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Tunisian Malek Jaziri in the second round.

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