By Alberto Amalfi | Thursday, June 13, 2019

 

In an all-German clash, 34-year-old qualifier Dustin Brown shocked Alexander Zverev, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3, to roar into the Stuttgart quarterfinals.

Photo credit: Mercedes Cup

Master of unpredictability Dustin Brown created grass-court shock waves again today.

In an all-German clash, 34-year-old qualifier Brown rode his dynamic game and Alexander Zverev's erratic serve to topple the top seed, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3, to roar into the Stuttgart quarterfinals.

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Playing just his second main-draw, Tour-level match of the season, an inspired Brown fought off 13 of 14 break points posting the fourth Top 10 victory of his career.



Zverev zapped 21 aces, but hurt his own cause with 14 double faults.

With coach Ivan Lendl, who skipped Roland Garros, watching from the support box, Zverev won just nine of 32 (28 percent) of his second serve points compared to Brown, who won 27 of 45 (68 percent) second-serve points.

Deadlocked at 5-all in the second set, Brown was in prime position to break as he held a break point and was a few feet from net for a backhand volley. But Brown botched the volley into net, Zverev held for 6-5 and eventually pulled out the tie breaker. 

A resilient Brown saved three break points holding for a 4-3 third-set edge then broke serve. 

Serving for the quarterfinals, Brown bumped a deep volley into the corner then grew emotional after sealing a two-hour triumph.

It was Brown's first Top 10 triumph since February 2017 when he beat seventh-ranked Marin Cilic in the Open Sud de France.

Grass-court tennis often brings out the best in Brown's attacking game. Brown scored a pair of grass-court wins over king of clay Rafael Nadal at the 2014 Halle and 2015 Wimbledon.

Brown advanced to a quarterfinal meeting with either seventh-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime or Gilles Simon.

While nagging injuries have slowed Brown recently, players respect his unorthodox, sometime explosive game and his shot-making creativity. At Roland Garros last month, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic called Brown a "phenomenal", crowd-pleasing presence on tour.

"Very unorthodox in every way, but I think he's very important player for tennis," Djokovic said of Brown. "I think it's phenomenal to have a guy and a character like him who enjoys, you know, every single moment and who is so unpredictable on the court. He actually has a lot of talent.

"I think his quality of tennis is maybe underrated because of everything that he does and the way he jokes around and everything, and the way he looks, and, you know, stuff like this. I think he actually possesses a lot of strengths in his game, especially on grass. I mean, he showed that. He won against Rafa I think in Wimbledon. He's got the game, but at the same time, what makes him special is exactly who he is. I think actually he brings a lot of new fans."



Stuttgart fans saw a day of upsets as both of the top two seeds tumbled from the draw.

Big-serving Italian Matteo Berrettini did not face a break point stopping second-seeded Karen Khachanov, 6-4, 6-2. Berrettini was nearly untouchable on serve winning 27 of 30 first-serve points in a 68-minute sweep that sends him into a quarterfinal vs. American Denis Kudla.

"I did a great match," Berrettini said. "I think served very well. I mixed it up with the slice. When I had the chance, I was going to the net. So I did a great match, yeah, it was a great one.

"I did a great pre-season. I realize that I have the level to play against Top 10 guys like Karen, like Alexander Zverev in Rome. So I'm just happy for the work I did and I'm really looking forward to improve more."

Kudla saved five of six break points upsetting fifth-seeded Gael Monfils, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3).