WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — The first Jamaican man to play at Wimbledon in four decades feels neglected in his country, and said yesterday he deserved a glimmer of the domestic fame enjoyed by compatriot Usain Bolt.

“He probably has no idea that I exist,” German-born Dustin Brown said of the Olympic gold-medallist sprinter and world-record holder in the 100 and 200 metres.

Brown, who sports dreadlocks, bright yellow wristbands and an unorthodox forehand slice, lost in his Grand Slam debut to French Open semi-finalist Jurgen Melzer of Austria. Despite the 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 scoreline, it was a triumph for the 25-year-old Brown, who broke into the top 100 last month after travelling for years to European tournaments in a camper van so he could save on expenses.

Still, the match didn’t yield an outburst of patriotic pride. Brown played Davis Cup for Jamaica in 2002 but hasn’t visited since 2007, and said he would even consider playing for Britain because of a British grandparent on his father’s side.

“No funds, no coaching, no help,” was his summary of his relationship with Jamaican tennis officials. Equally galling, he said, was a message he received from the federation president congratulating him for a wild card entry into Wimbledon. Brown got into the tournament after injury pull-outs on the strength of his ranking, which reached a high of 99 on May 17 and slipped back to 105.

Phillip Gore, the president of Jamaican tennis, said the federation wanted to work with Brown despite its limited resources, but he had spurned their efforts.

“This young man is unfortunately going around bad-mouthing us and we’re tired of it,” said Gore, who added that the association was checking whether it needed to apologise for the message about the wild card.

The last Jamaican man to play at Wimbledon was Richard Russell in 1970. He failed to qualify in 1972. Russell was also the last Jamaican man to appear in a Grand Slam tournament, losing in the second round in the French Open in 1974.

Brown, who has a Jamaican father and German mother, moved to Jamaica as a boy but returned in 2004 to Germany, which he used as a base to battle on the low-level circuit of professional tennis. He considers himself “clean down the middle” when it comes to feeling German or Jamaican.

Brown’s career took off in 2008, and he won his first challenger title in Uzbekistan and reached four other finals last year. Another highlight was advancing to the quarterfinals of the ATP event in Johannesburg this year.