That’s what I once called
Dustin Brown. The date was September 2010; the match, against Andy Murray; and
the occasion, the 2010 US Open. At the time, Dustin was in the middle of failed
attempts to get himself adopted by England after he fell out with Jamaica.
Three months later, in
December 2010, I made the following joking prediction: “After learning of Kiefer’s retirement, Dustin Brown
will give up his bid to be adopted by Britain and will instead offer himself to
Germany, reminding them that he was actually born there. The Germans will have
a good belly laugh.”
Turns out I was both wrong and right. Brown is now listed as
German on his official records. Yet he has never played Davis Cup for that country.
Indeed, do any random search for German tennis players and his name rarely comes
up. This is because for most of his tennis career, Brown was listed as
Jamaican, living for years in a camper purchased by his parents, and supporting
himself on the challenger circuit.