Are Rafa Nadal's glory days gone forever?

Dustin Brown's win meant for the fourth year in a row two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal was knocked out of the tournament by a player ranked outside the world's top 100.

It left the Spaniard in a reflective mood as he insisted there are no guarantees he will ever get back to his former standard.

"I don't know if I will be back to the level of 2008 or 2010..." Nadal said after his 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-4 defeat.

"My motivation is try to be back to that level. But I am going to keep working on that. But if I don't make that happen..." he said, trailing off.

Rafa's uncle and coach, Toni Nadal, was more to the point, condemning his nephews performance against the world 102.

"He played really bad," said Toni. "Bad shots. Very bad with his forehand."

Rafa is now likely to end the year without a grand slam singles title for the first time since his debut French Open crown in 2005.

He insists the show will go on, stressing "It's not the end. [It's] a sad moment for me... but life continues. My career, too...",

Standing at 6'5" and with long dreadlocks, Dustin Brown is about as photogenic as they come. His enthralling, old-school serve-and-volley win over Nadal made him the obvious choice for both front and back pages.

Some still decided to go with a crestfallen picture of Nadal though...

While others thought Andy Murray's sweaty wrist-band was the image of the day.

Tim Henman (BBC): "I think Roger Federer or Andy Murray would have beaten Brown today. They both return better and are more confident. When you have won 14 Grand Slams and 60-odd tour titles, it amazes me how fragile Rafael Nadal's confidence is. He has talked about how he really struggles with nerves in matches and that amazes me. He needs to find a solution to that because he is still young."

John McEnroe (BBC): "Five hundred professional tennis players are inspired to hang in for a couple of years longer because of what they have just seen there. Nothing is impossible. Brown's level of play on this court was spectacularly high."

Christoper Clarey (The New York Times): "At this stage, in light of Nadal’s recent Wimbledons and his shaky form over the last year, it was no longer a genuine shock to see him go down in the second round here to anyone. But there was no doubt that Brown’s performance in a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory was a surprise as he attacked the net in his first Centre Court appearance with enough brio and skill to leave former Wimbledon champions like John McEnroe competing to come up with superlatives."

Oliver Brown (The Telegraph): "Against the Brown bombardment, Nadal often looked lost. His coach Toni could be seen cursing under his breath, desperately trying to impart instructions to his nephew in Spanish. But it was all in vain. Nadal was shanking forehands with a frequency that would have been unthinkable in his pomp, and betraying his befuddled state of mind by throwing away the crucial game of the fourth set with two consecutive double faults."

Chris Chase (For The Win): "What happened? Nadal got old. He’s the oldest 29-year-old in sports, outside a few NFL running backs, maybe. I’ve often compared Nadal to Allen Iverson — two players who gave it their all on every point, pounding their legs with every step, ripping away cartilage with every pivot. Such men aren’t designed for longevity. Their games are predicated on speed and once that speed slows even a little, the rest of the game goes right with it."

It's sad to see a great titan of the game in such a state - but having been so good while still so young, and having stayed so good for so long, it seems time has caught up with Rafa Nadal. It's now sounds almost trite to repeat the line about the relative strain placed on the human body by Federer's balletic grace versus Nadal's thundering aggression. But there's now little doubt that it's true. Chris Chase is right: he's the oldest 29-year-old in sport.