For 4th year in row, Rafael Nadal loses early at Wimbledon

London • On the final point of the first set of his latest Wimbledon disappointment, Rafael Nadal swung his lefty forehand — and whiffed, whacking his right leg with his racket.

It was a painful, embarrassing mistake, symbolic of the sort of day this was.

During five trips to the All England Club from 2006-11, Nadal reached the final every time. In his most recent four appearances, though, Nadal has exited early against an opponent ranked 100th or worse. On Thursday, Nadal lost 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round to Dustin Brown, who needed to qualify to enter the main draw.

"It's not the end," Nadal said. "[It's] a sad moment for me ... but life continues. My career, too."

All true. But give credit to Brown and his entertaining brand of tennis, a mix of old-school serve-and-volleying, drop shots, drop volleys and go-for-it returns.

"I had nothing to lose. If I lose 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, everyone says 'Bravo, Rafa,'" Brown said.

The 30-year-old Brown was born in Germany to a Jamaican father — whose face is tattooed on Brown's stomach — and German mother. They moved to Jamaica when he was 12 and returned to Europe about a decade ago. Around that time, his parents bought him an RV so he could drive to tournaments.

Who could have imagined this sort of triumph back then? Or, frankly, even now? Brown is ranked 102nd, entered Thursday with a 6-11 record in 2015.

Nadal, meanwhile, is a former No. 1 and the owner of 14 major titles, tied with Pete Sampras for second-most behind Roger Federer's 17.

Federer joined Andy Murray and Petra Kvitova as past Wimbledon champions picking up straightforward, straight-set victories Thursday. Federer's 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win over Sam Querrey of the U.S. included an on-the-run, between-the-legs lob.

"You want to go over and give him a high-five sometimes," Querrey said, "but you can't do that."

Nadal used to leave opponents feeling that way, too. Not lately. He missed time last season with a right wrist injury, then needed appendix surgery, and has spoken about confidence issues.

After his run of five consecutive French Open titles ended last month with a quarterfinal loss to Novak Djokovic, Nadal's ranking dropped to 10th, his worst in 10 years.

Consider, too, Nadal's history at Wimbledon. He lost to Federer in the 2006 and 2007 finals, then beat him 9-7 in the fifth set of the epic 2008 final. After missing the 2009 tournament because of injury, Nadal collected another trophy in 2010, then lost to Djokovic in the 2011 final.

"I don't know if I will be back to [that] level," Nadal acknowledged.

In 2012, he lost to No. 100 Lukas Rosol in the second round. In 2013, he lost to No. 135 Steve Darcis in the first. And last year, he lost to No. 144 Nick Kyrgios in the fourth.

Brown played wonderfully. His back-length dreadlocks jumping around as he raced to the net, Brown serve-and-volleyed on 99 of 114 service points. He hit serves at up to 133 mph.

"Whatever I do is to take him out of his comfort zone," Brown said.

At least Nadal was able to joke afterward. When a reporter asked whether he would stick around at his rented place before heading home, Nadal replied: "I don't have more work here in London, so if you want to use the house, [it's] going to be free tomorrow."