DUSTIN Brown continues his quest for a main draw spot at Wimbledon this summer as he competes in the South Africa Tennis Open in Johannesburg today.

Brown, 25, is in the main draw of this ATP Challenger tournament, the second of the year, and immediately faces an uphill task.

The dogged Brown will open his account against tournament’s fourth seed and world number 58-ranked Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland.

Last week, the German-born Jamaican made it to the second round of the Heilbronn Open in Germany before being knocked out 4-6, 5-7 by top-seed and eventual champion Michael Berrer. Chiudinelli, who is ranked higher that Berrer (number 66), is expected to pose a much stiffer challenge for the Jamaican. And in spite of the daunting challenge, plus the fact that he is without his coach, he said: “I am looking forward to it and I am happy to be able to play here. I have no coach, but right now I am training with some players who are around.

“For the first time, I am based on my ATP ranking in the main draw of an ATP Tournament. I have a tough first-round match against Marco Chiudinelli,” added the world 141-ranked Brown.

Having surged up the ATP rankings in 2009, the Jamaican has set his sights on breaking into the ATP top 100 list, which guarantees him a spot in the main draw at the All-England Club.

He has played in three ATP tournaments so far this year, including the qualifiers of the just-concluded Australian Open, won by Roger Federer.

In Johannesburg, the main star attractions are world number 12 Gael Monfils of France and Spain’s David Ferrerr, ranked 18th in the world — both seeded one and two respectively.

But the 6′ 5″ Brown, who sports dreadlocks and models part-time, will be hoping he makes an impression on the court for the right reasons.