Prior to Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski and Andy Murray, supporters of British men's tennis had become accustomed to seeing their players usually suffer defeat on the first Monday or Tuesday of Wimbledon.
This was certainly the case back in 1991 at SW19, where among the home contingent was Nick Brown. It was 24 years ago today that the 29-year-old would take on Goran Ivanisevic, who was expected to ease into the third round with minimal fuss.
After all, not only had the big-serving Croatian reached the semi-finals in the English capital 12 months earlier, he was seeded number 10 for the tournament, while Brown was ranked a lowly 591 in the world.
As for Brown, he was two years into a tennis comeback, having spent the five years before that in retirement coaching youngsters to ensure that he had a steady income. What's more, no Brit had been able to beat a seeded player at Wimbledon since John Lloyd defeated Eliot Teltscher in 1985.
So, when Ivanisevic, who had eased beyond Brown's fellow countryman Andrew Castle in the previous round, claimed the opening set thanks to one break of his opponent's serve, it seemed that the encounter was going very much with the script.
However, what followed next on Court 13, nobody saw coming. Wildcard entry Brown not only levelled up proceedings by winning the next set, he went on to shock the tennis world by also overcoming Ivanisevic in the next two to secure a 4-6 6-3 7-6(3) 6-3 victory.
Statistically, it was the biggest upset at Wimbledon ever since the ATP rankings had been introduced back in 1973.
To make sure that he arrived for his match in time, the victorious Brown had travelled to South West London on the back of his friend Victor's Harley Davidson.
Explaining why that was the case to reporters after his win, he said: "I've been riding pillion basically because the first day I came it took me an hour and a half to get home. If you have been here all day waiting around, the last thing you want is an hour and a half journey going home.
"On the motorbike, it takes me about 25 minutes - it's great. Sometimes he gets a little bit close. I have to squeeze my legs in a little bit and my kneecaps."
Brown would go no further than round three, though, as he lost out to Frenchman Thierry Champion (1)6-7 6-1 7-5 6-3.
His second - and permanent - retirement followed soon after and since then Brown has taken up numerous coaching roles, including being in charge of Britain's Fed Cup team.
