Britain's worst professional tennis player finally wins his first match after 54 consecutive defeats

British tennis player Robert Dee won his first game after 54 defeats in a row

He has spent three years and £200,000 striving to be Britain's next Big Hope for Wimbledon glory.

But after losing every one of his 54 professional matches, Robert Dee had the dubious honour of being the world's worst player – until now.

The 21-year-old from Bexley, Kent, today told of his relief and delight at finally tasting victory.

He beat American Arzhang Derakhshani in two sets, 6-4 6-3, on Saturday in a qualifying match at a Futures tournament near Barcelona.

But his winning streak did not last long – he lost his next game the following day.

Having turned professional in 2005, Mr Dee had previously never even won a set at tournaments in countries as diverse as Rwanda, Iran and Colombia.

Speaking from his training camp in La Manga in southern Spain, Mr Dee, who despite the victory has still not collected any prize money, told the Evening Standard: “Now I have my first win I just need to push on and get a second one.

“It is only in the past few months I thought I could beat some of these people. I just knew I could do it.

“This is only a small step on a very long journey. I am very determined. I never thought about giving up. I always knew I had more in me and I would always improve.”

Mr Dee, educated at fee-paying Eltham College, entered the record books as tennis's worst player after losing his 54th consecutive match earlier this year.

The Guatemalan player Diego Beltranena had also gone 54 matches without a win between 1997 and 2005 but in those eight years had at least won the odd set.

Mr Dee had played 108 straight sets in the professional game without winning one, until Saturday.

At match point against Derakhshani, Mr Dee admitted to nerves. “I didn't think about winning the match until I was 5-1 up.

“I had a match point but didn't take it. I then had a really poor service game and started to worry a little but managed to pull through,” he recalled.

Mr Dee – who began his professional tennis career at 17 and is funded by his parents – then phoned home to tell of his success.

He said: “I phoned my parents straight away. I told my mum I had lost again.

“Then I said 'put dad on' and I told him I had won. For me it was a little bit of a relief. I knew I could do it but there were times when I wondered.”

He now hopes his world ranking – which had peaked at 1,466th but is currently non-existent – will start to improve.

Mr Dee's father, Alan, managing director of shipping firm Bell International, said: “It is a tribute to his perseverance.

“He doesn't drink. he trains five hours a day. He is an absolute tribute for any young tennis player.”

The article is from Thisislondon