Wimbledon 2017: Andy Murray insists he and Dustin Brown are two peas in a pod
THEY are tennis’s Odd Couple, the most unlikely of penpals. But Andy Murray insists he and Dustin Brown have more in common than you think.
A rare smile crosses the lips of the world No1 when it is suggested the pair are not obvious choices to be pigeon-holed together as friends.
They have only met once on court – a straight-sets win for Murray seven long years ago at the US Open. But they did rub shoulders late in 2015 when they were fellow Singapore Slammers – along with Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, Carlos Moya and Marcelo Melo – in the second running of the International Premier Tennis League.
“We were on the same team,” Murray recalled. “We spent a bit of time together there and had a bit of a group chat with all of the players on the team.
“We all were basically writing to each other after that because everybody got on well. From time to time we message each other.
“It could be anything, not just tennis. You might think that because of the way he plays on court, maybe he is the same away from it. My first-round opponent Alexander Bublik, for example, you would guess what he was like away from the court because of the way he plays the game.
Kim Murray watches husband Andy at Wimbledon
“Dustin comes out with incredible shots and is very entertaining to watch and is pretty ‘out there’ on the court. But away from the court he is a very quiet, respectful and humble guy. He is very different to how he plays the game. We get on well and he is a nice guy.”
Yesterday, certainly, Brown was subdued as he practised on one of the more private courts at the Aorangi complex before emerging with his famous dreadlocks – he has not cut his hair for nine years – tucked away in a bulging tam to face his public. Reluctantly.
He spoke briefly to a German TV station, 10 seconds at most, but brushed away the British press with a “sorry guys” before spending a few minutes in the fan zone signing over-sized tennis balls and programmes.
His big battle here – possibly greater than trying to topple of the world No1 on Centre Court this afternoon – is to convince people to take him seriously.
It is only two years since Brown blitzed Rafa Nadal off the same stage in a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. A fantastic tennis achievement, and yet the following day the coverage was all about how he has spent three years driving around Europe in a campervan keeping his professional tennis dream alive. It fitted the stereotype better.
We all were basically writing to each other after that because everybody got on well
Contrary to appearances, Brown would rather talk about backhands and racket tensions than Bob Marley and reggae music.
His mind is very much on his game, even when he is asked whether taking Murray’s scalp would mark an even greater achievement.
“Depends how I play and depends what happens,” he said, pandering more to the idiosyncrasies of his native Germany than his cultural roots in Jamaica.
“These are things I don’t worry about because it hasn’t happened yet. Like I said, I just came off the court. I’m trying to do my press and then go to the physios after and get ready.
“Also in a few days also I have doubles match I have to prepare for. I’m going to speak to my coach and see things that were good and things that weren’t good and try to find a very good game plan for the next match.”
As Murray says, Brown has found a kindred spirit in the Scot – although neither will be going overboard.
“Although I get on well with Dustin, and he’s a great guy, I doubt we’ll be stopping halfway through to discuss how it’s going,” Murray joked tentatively.
He is serious, too, about building on a positive start and reaching the third round – the bare minimum he has achieved each year he has been here.
By contrast, that would be uncharted territory for British No4 Aljaz Bedene, who plays Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur on Court 3.
The pair are also friends, to the extent the Slovenia-born Bedene, who became a British citizen in 2015, lent Dzumhur some spare kit for his first-round match. Now they are opponents, that sort of courtesy is gone of course.
“He has to give me my shirts and shorts back in time for our match, right?” Bedene joked.
“Matches are a different story. I wouldn’t say it’s any different to playing anybody else because I will have to stay focused on myself, try to be ready, and try to be 100 per cent.”