Tennis Atlantic

An Interview with Dustin Brown (@DreddyTennis) from Newport (@TennisHalloFame)
Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic

What do you think you need to do to follow up with big wins like the one against Nadal at Wimbledon?

The main thing is to go out there and try and play my tennis. Obviously, you don’t get to play on that stage and play those matches every week. Everyone keeps asking that but at the end of the day, it has nothing to do with that. If I go out here, I’m trying to do well at this tournament. It has nothing to do with how I did the last six months or how I played in February. I’ve got to go out there and try and win this match. At the end of the day, it’s great that I won that match but on the other side, it’s good for points, it’s good for money, but it doesn’t help me out here when I played Bossel today.

 

How has that Wimbledon win changed your lifestyle, if at all?

To be honest, I haven’t had time to do anything. I left the Wimbledon compound at 3 or 4 pm that day, got on a plane, and flew to Germany, played Bundesliga the next day, got in the hotel, slept and and then flew the next day to the States to be a little early to get used to the time change. So, basically, I’ve been going from match to match and tournament to tournament, so there was not a lot of time to change anything.

Have you ever thought about playing less agressively? You come to the net a lot.

If I were to do that, I would not be sitting here probably. I’ve said that playing futures and I’ll say it again: There are three or four hundred guys that play better from the baseline or do their type of game better. For me, It’s important that I play my game and that’s the game people don’t like and that’s what I can beat big guys with, which I’ve proven.  Obviously, I’m going to lose matches because of that but that’s my tennis and that’s what I’ve learned to accept.

Do you think Serve and Volley will ever make a comeback in the ATP?

There’s a bunch of guys playing serve and volley, so I’m not sure. It’s just not being taught as much, the courts are a lot slower, so it’s not that easy. I mean Radek Stepanek, Ivo Karlovic, me, Rajeev Ram. There’s a lot of guys who like to play that style but not enough tournaments where you can play like that.

 

What’s on Dreddy’s Beats right now?

Still the same song I listened to during Wimbledon the whole time (A$AP Rocky: “Canal St”). I normally have the certain song I listen to all day, and right now it’s the same one.