LONDON — Two-times champion Rafa Nadal's appalling recent run at Wimbledon continued on Thursday as he crashed out in the second round 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 to seal a shock victory.
Brown, who had beaten Nadal in the pair's only other meeting last year, 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.