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Rafael Nadal bounced from Wimbledon by qualifier

Dustin Brown touches his tattoo after beating Rafael Nadal. (AP)
Dustin Brown touches his tattoo after beating Rafael Nadal. (AP)

For the fourth year in a row, Rafael Nadal is on the losing end of a shocking early-round upset at Wimbledon. The two-time champion fell to German qualifier Dustin Brown in four sets on Thursday, with Brown ending the match on a powerful ace to take the 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win.

It was Brown’s first time playing on Centre Court. After the match he said, “It’s not easy, but it’s easy for me to play my game against someone like him because I have nothing to lose.”

It showed throughout the match. Brown played aggressively from the baseline and at the net. He served 13 aces and hit 58 winners. More than anything, he looked confident.

The first signs of trouble for Nadal came with Brown storming through the very first game, taking four points before Nadal took one. The rest of the set was competitive, with Brown eeking out the 7-5 win. It was nothing that Nadal wasn’t likely to overcome, but still surprising.

Nadal powered through the second set, seeming to find his stride and settle in. But Brown refused to give in to the veteran. He continued executing, earning a break at two-all in the third set. That was all he’d need to take the set, never letting Nadal break him.

With Brown leading 5-3 in the fourth set, Nadal had to serve to hold serve to stay alive. He gave up two quick points. It looked like the match was over, that Brown would take the last two necessary points and pull off the upset.

But Nadal battled back to 15-30, then 30-40. At double-match point he dug in, holding off Brown to bring the score to 4-5. That was all he had in him, though. Brown held serve to close out the match, a strong ace in his third match-point opportunity the final exclamation point.

“That last game, that was unbelievable," Brown said. "I just kept saying, 'Dustin just keep trying to concentrate. And even if you do lose, no one is going to say anything bad.' "

Nadal had never lost to a qualifier in a Grand Slam event. Brown had never beaten a seeded player in a Grand Slam. Today, a bit of history for each.

“I lost. I’m sad today for that, obviously," a dejected Nadal said during his press conference. "At the end of the day that’s the sport. Good moments, bad moments. Obviously today is a bad moment for me. I need to accept these kind of things and keep going."

Brown also advanced to the third round at Wimbledon in 2013, his first appearance at the tournament.

In 2012, Nadal fell in the second round; in 2013 it was the first round. He has battled repeated injuries over the last few years, coming into this years Wimbledon ranked outside of the top 5 for the first time in a decade. He came in seeded 10th.

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Danielle Elliot is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Find her on Twitter and Facebook.