Status: ATP #102. Reached his second ATP quarterfinal in 2010 in Newport. Reached second round at this year’s Wimbledon.
Ht: 6-5 Wt: 180
DOB: December 8, 1984 In: Celle, Germany
First Tennis Memory: “The courts back at home where I started playing in Germany. It’s a long time ago.”
Nicknames: “Just one – Dreddy.”
Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “Listen to music all day basically. I’m on my computer a lot. Catching up with friends online.”
Tennis Inspirations: “As in idols? Early on, when they were still playing – Noah, Safin. Mainly those two. Agassi.”
Last Book Read: “Dan Brown, Illuminati.”
Favorite Movies: “I watched Karate Kid this week. Pretty good movie. Pretty much everything Denzel Washington was in. He’s a really good actor, so.”
Favorite TV Show: “Californication.”
Musical Tastes: “Hip-hop, R&B, Lil Wayne, Drake.”
First Job: “Tennis [laughs].”
First Car: “Camper Volkswagen.”
Current Car: “Camper (white).”
Pre-Match Feeling: “It always varies. Never the same. It always varies, depends on where I am, who I have around me, who’s with me.”
Favorite Meal: “No favorite meal actually.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Vanilla.”
Childhood Dream: “I was always tennis. Never been anything else.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “Winning the $100,000 Challenger in South Africa, Soweto (d. Izak van der Merwe 76 63). This year. (Why?) It’s the biggest win of my career, that got me closest to the top 100. And it’s a really great feeling winning there in Soweto, with the whole thing going on there with blacks and whites.”
Most Painful Moment: “Probably losing 0-0 to Jerome Haehnel in Basel on center court, three years ago. 0-0 indoors. Shouldn’t be 0-0 with my serve. (What happened that day?) I have no idea. Everything. And nothing [smiles].”
Which Matches Did You Feel At Your Very Best: “Under all the terms, the Querrey match in Newport. It’s a grass court, short match (64 63 in 47 minutes). Definitely served unbelievable – first serves won – 33 out of 34 – 97%. One point that when I put a first serve in that he made a point on my serve. First serve percentage 66%. That’s very good. I don’t think I’m going to have a day where I serve 80 or 90%. That’s probably not going to happen. I’m pretty happy to serve 60-70%, especially on these courts.”
Closest Tennis Friends: “American guys, Armitraj family, Rajeev Ram and a bunch of German guys – Stadler, Phau, Bozo (Bozoljac).”
Funniest Players Encountered: “Probably that’s some of the guys you hang around with. If you don’t hang around with anyone, the guy can’t be funny.”
Toughest Competitors Encountered: “I would say everybody. Because no one wants to lose, everybody wants to win. So they’re basically always fighting. No one gives it easy to you.”
Embarrassing Tennis Memory: “Nope.”
Strangest Match: “No, none of that Mahut stuff [smiles].”
Favorite Players To Watch: “Watching my friends at a tournament. There’s not anyone I would say that I would prefer to watch. The guys that I hang around with at the tournaments.”
Favorite Sport Outside Tennis: “Nothing.”
Last Vacation: “Never vacation. I would say tennis. Although I wouldn’t say it’s a vacation. Or I could say it’s always a vacation [smiles].”
The Long Journey: “It’s been a really long journey. Basically started – I was living two years in Jamaica where I was gonna play Futures. My parents were thinking of ways of how they can keep me going and playing. My parents aren’t rich or anything, they were like, What can we do? My mom came up with the idea about the camper. Now the investment has paid off. It was hard just traveling with a camper the whole time, living in there, practicing. It’s not easy when you’re beginning your 20′s and you’re still young. It’s not exactly the ideal way to play tennis. But it definitely worked out and got me through a couple of tough times which definitely helps me on the court.”
People Qualities Most Admired: “Nice, friendly people who like to have fun.”
Topics: Blacks And Whites, Car Camper, Childhood Dream, Dan Brown, Favorite Tv Show, First Job, Grass Court, Greatest Sports, Izak, Jerome Haehnel, Karate Kid, Lil Wayne, Musical Tastes, Painful Moment, Quarterfinal, Safin, Soweto, Sports Moment, Van Der Merwe, Wayne Drake
Biofile with Dustin Brown | 