Dustin Brown was is competing for Germany in tennis at the 2016 Olympics in Rio received both boos and cheers from Brazilians who were supporting local player Thomaz Bellucci at center court. The crowd booed with Brown made his shots and cheered at his faults, and they even cheered when he fell after rolling his ankle in the second set. The injury forced him to retire from the match, and when he got on his feet, the previously hostile crowd gave him a standing ovation as a show of respect for his efforts. Brown, who is ranked at No. 86 in the world was in agony after the ankle sprain brought him down; it took more than a minute for medical personnel to administer aid. Brown, 29, won the first set 6-4 and was trying to hold his serve in the second set when he had to surrender the break. He was taken to the hospital for scans of the ankle, but it remains uncertain whether he will be able to play in the US Open competition. Brown was born in West Germany to a Jamaica father and German mother. Brown began to place tennis seriously at the age of eight. In 1996, when he was 11, the family moved to Montego Bay, partly because it was so expensive to play tennis in Germany and partly to make Brown more disciplined on the court. In Jamaica, he could only play tennis with low-quality balls on public courts,which were poorly maintained, as track and field, soccer and cricket received more support than tennis on the island. In spite of these conditions, Brown became only the second Jamaican to reach the quarterfinals of a main event on the ATP tour. He broke into the Top 100 for the first time in 2010 and ranked No. 99 among singles players. In 2010, however, because of a lack of funding and support from the Jamaican Tennis Association, he decided to play professional tennis for Great Britain, claiming heritage through his paternal grandparents, but ultimately made the decision to compete for Germany, the country where he was born. He won his first title as a German player at the 2010 Lambertz Open by STAWAG. Brown says he is very thankful for his time in Jamaica, which taught him that there were things in the world more important than Game Boys and cable TV and that he wouldn’t have achieved what he has without the experiences he had in Jamaica.
Photo Source: Dustin Brown Facebook Page
