Video: Appreciating Dustin Brown's Surreal Takedown of Nadal in Halle

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Video: Appreciating Dustin Brown's Surreal Takedown of Nadal in Halle

This highlight package of Dustin Brown’s 6-4, 6-1 thrashing of Rafael Nadal surfaced on the internet Friday (accompanied appropriately by Steel Pulse’s “Steppin’ Out,” thanks to YouTube user Newpball), and we simply could not resist sharing it.

Video: Dustin Brown and Rafael Nadal Take a Tumble on the Same Point in Halle

Why, you ask? Because the assortment of jaw-dropping shots that Brown used to debunk Nadal in this round of 16 match in Halle—part absurd, part comical, part genius and part showtime all wrapped into one—is must-see tennis.

As in: you MUST see it to believe it.

As in: you MUST admit that it looks like Brown is No. 1 in the world in this video and Nadal is No. 85.

Nadal would state unequivocally that playing Dustin Brown in his first match on grass after a long, grueling clay-court season that ended just a few days prior with his ninth Roland Garros title was the “worst possible draw.”

Man, was he ever right.

Maybe Nadal should have, as many are saying, taken the week off, but who can fault the Spaniard for honoring his obligations and for putting in the hard yards on grass so that he might improve upon his last two sub-par performances at Wimbledon this year? The one-sided loss wasn’t so much about Nadal’s decision to play as this match was about Brown’s decision to play OUT OF HIS MIND.

The 29-year-old German hits racy returns, heat-seeking forehands and flying-through-the-air smashes on some points, while mixing in delicate volleys and exquisite tasty lobs on others.

Go to :25 seconds on the compilation and see a high-risk crosscourt forehand yanked to perfection with such pace that Nadal can just sit there and spectate as it goes for a clean winner. Then skip ahead to 1:45 to see Brown come in behind a laced backhand return to set up a crosscourt volley winner that gives him three set points. And since you’re watching, why not skip ahead to 2:07 to see Brown flying through the air like Superman as he launches himself into an overhead smash and lands into a celebratory skip.

Welcome to the Dustin Brown zone, where nothing is real expect the sound of the umpire calling the score…

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