
Brett Brown wins Wimbledon’s new ‘Greatest Hits’ award
WASHINGTON (AP) Bret Brown was just a teenager when he signed up to play tennis in the 1970s, but he’s still got his fingers crossed that the sport gets better in the next decade.
The 20-year-old, the oldest player ever to win the Australian Open, won the Wimbledon singles title Thursday and was named “Greatest Hit” in the tournament’s 25th edition.
His fellow Brits included current ATP players Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer.
Brown, who won Wimbledon last year, was the first player to win in both singles and doubles since former British Open champion John McEnroe won the first-round match at the 2004 Australian Open.
The British Open has been the mainstay of the men’s singles season for a decade, but the men are getting more attention in the ATP tournament.
Brown was a member of the first ATP Tour team in 1995.
His first ATP match was a 6-6 tie against Juan Martin del Potro in the third round.
The next year, Brown faced compatriot Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals of the Wim, a rematch of the French Open.
After the French, Brown followed Agassi to the ATP and won the Open in 2006.
In 2007, Brown became the first British player to defeat a player ranked in the top 100.
The year after the French and Wimbledon, Brown took on compatriot Djokovic in the second round of the Australian open and lost 6-5.
In 2009, Brown beat Juan Martin Del Potro and then Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the U.S. Open.
Brown then defeated Roger Fed, Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych in the final.
Brown has been competing in the U to British Open since 2009, winning two titles in a row, including the British Open title in 2010.
He is tied with Rafael Nadals for the most Wimbledon titles by a British player.
The American is ranked No. 5 in the world.
He is the first Briton to win a title in both majors since Stan Wawrinka won Wimburg in 1996 and reached No. 1 in both tournaments.
The top three players in each major, including Brown, have a combined 39 majors titles.