There was another early exit for Kent tennis professional Robert Dee in a tournament in Barcelona - but it was cue for a huge celebration in the Dee family.

The 21-year-old, from Bexley, crashed out 6-3, 6-1 to Poland’s Artur Romanowski in the second round, but it was his exploits in the first round that made national news.

Going into his opening match against American Arzhang Derakhshani, Dee was facing the ignonimity of being officially crowned the worst ever tennis professional after 54 consecutive defeats - a 55th would have seen him overtake the record set by Guatemalan Diego Bel-Trenena.

But Dee dug deep into his resources to grind out a 6-4, 6-3 win to record his first ever victory in three years as a professional, not to mention his first ever successful set.

"It was a relief," Dee admitted. "I knew I could do it but there were times when I wondered if it would happen.

"Now I have my first win I just need to push on and get a second one. 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."