Dustin Brown, the man who once famously shocked Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, donned a protective mask and took centre stage again, but in an event far removed from the gentrified surroundings of the All England Club as tennis quietly emerged from the shadow of the coronavirus.
An eight-man exhibition competition at the Base Tennis Academy in the tiny town of Hoehr-Grenzhausen, near Koblenz, was the first tournament to be played since coronavirus brought tennis to a halt in mid-March.
However, it was an event like no other.
Strict rules over health and safety meant there were no fans, no ball boys or girls and no line judges. There was just a chair umpire.
Meanwhile, handshakes were banned, players handled their own towels and brought their own water and fruit to the clay courts.
"A couple of weeks ago there were no plans to get on the court anytime soon," 35-year-old Brown told The Tennis Channel which live-streamed the opening day's action.
"It was a tough time because it's tough to get motivated when there's no date for returning to play."
"A little strange, yes. But nice to be back, finally. It was like a training match with a buddy."
- 'Disinfectant everywhere' -
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"But things are getting tight now."
Rafael Nadal's Academy in Mallorca is in talks with the ATP over plans for "elite players to reside, train and compete between themselves in matches that will be televised so that fans around the world can enjoy them."
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