Tennis maverick Dustin Brown has the internet abuzz

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Dustin Brown of Germany plays a forehand against Rafael Nadal of Spain during day four of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 02, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Broadway/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Virtual unknown Dustin Brown got the world’s attention when he beat top-seeded Rafael Nadal last week

It’s the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and winning Wimbeldon is seen as the pinnacle of a tennis player’s career. A great performance at the tournament has the power to make emerging and longstanding athletes household names.

Dustin Brown (30) discovered this truth last weekend when he was catapulted into the spotlight after causing the the biggest upset of the 2015 Wimbledon tournament.

On Friday, tennis lovers from across the world hurried to Google to find out who the deadlocked player was, when in a thrilling clash, Brown put 10th seed Nadal through his paces in a game that saw Brown win the match 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-4.

Although Brown was unable to follow up his shock win against Nadal two days later – when he was defeated by Serbia’s Viktor Troicki  – Brown’s charisma and flare on the court left a huge impression on all who watched him play.

So, who is this dreadlocked sportsman who has been nicknamed the Bob Marley of Tennis?

• Brown was born in Germany to a German mother and a Jamaican father.

• Along with his Jamaican and German ancestry, he also has roots in Britain. His maternal grandmother is English, which technically qualifies him to represent England in tournaments.

• Brown is an all-round sportsman. In his teenage years he played football, handball and judo, but ultimately tennis won his heart.

• In 1996, when Brown was 11 years old, his family emigrated to Jamaica. For the next nine years he played tennis for Jamaica, but eventually grew tired of the poor standard of tennis in the country. He moved to Gemany for better opportunities.

• His cash-strapped parents bought him a Volkswagen camper van in 2004 to travel and sleep in when he competed in tournaments across Europe.

• To make extra money, Brown used his good looks to land modelling gigs. He later bought a racquet stringing machine and restrung fellow tennis players rackets.

• Whenever he won a point or set against Nadal on Friday, he was seen lifting up his shirt a little and patting a tattoo on the left side of his torso. The tattoo is of his father – a way for Brown to pay homeage to him.

• And most importantly is he taken? Yip. He is rumoured to be dating Las Vegas-based model Dione Gonzales . . . sorry ladies!