KEY POINTS:
You have to give the guy full marks for trying. Perhaps somewhere inside the great British loser Robert Dee there is a Pete Sampras or a John McEnroe struggling to get out.
If so, the struggle continues, because the 21-year-old Englishman holds a place in the record books as the worst-ever professional tennis player.
His unblemished record of utter failure on the pro circuit was known only to a few tennis buffs until young Dee did something startling and wholly unexpected in a qualifying round for a minor tournament in Spain - he won.
A surprise victory over a 19-year-old American, Arzhang Derakhshani, brought to an end the longest losing streak in the sport's history.
A few churls have suggested that Dee's record of failure was not completely unmatched. It was pointed out that he had only equalled a record set by the legendary Guatemalan, Diego Beltranena, who competed in 54 professional tournaments between 1997 and 2005 and lost every match.
But putting Dee on a par with Beltranena does not do justice to the immensity of the English player's incompetence.
It took Beltranena eight years to notch up 54 defeats, and the Guatemalan slightly spoilt his record by winning the occasional set. He never lost more than 76 sets in a row.
There was, by contrast, an almost artistic perfection to the losing streak that Dee maintained until last weekend.
He did not just pack his kit and go home after the opening match of every qualifying round of every tournament; he never even troubled his opponent to stay on court for a three-set match.
And he compressed his extraordinary achievement into just three years.
From his debut at 18 in the Mexico City challenge competition on April 11, 2005, until his historic win in Reus, near Barcelona, last Saturday, the peerless Dee, from Bexley in Kent, played 108 sets in 54 tournaments, all of them minor, and lost every one.
In February, he entered a qualifying round for a contest in Spain and achieved what might be called a perfect score, losing 6-0, 6-0.
Back on court a week later, he stayed true to form in the opening set, losing 6-0 again, then suddenly took his Brazilian opponent to a tie-break. But, still, he lost.
The turning point came when he stepped on court to play Derakhshani, a college student who has played for the Nevada state men's team.
He is the first player to lose against Dee and, perhaps, the last - because the next day Dee played again, and lost 6-3, 6-1.
But he thinks a change of fortune is on the way. "Now I have my first win I just need to push on and get a second one," he told the London Evening Standard.
"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."
Last night, the British Lawn Tennis Association admitted to being puzzled about Dee. He apparently does not belong to any British club and officials were unable to find any contemporaries who remembered playing him as a junior.
Paul Henderson, head of the £11,625-a-year ($28,960) Eltham College, where Dee was a pupil, said: "Rob was never the Eltham College tennis champion and I have to say that, when his dad came to us and said he was taking Rob to play tennis in America, I was a bit surprised."
Dee's search for tennis glory has taken him to the farthest corners of the globe. He has lost to opponents in the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the US, Colombia, Venezuela, Iran, Botswana, Rwanda, Sudan, Senegal and South Africa.
He has even made two trips to Britain to lose to British players.
Since the total prize money he has accumulated so far amounts to £1,154, all his expenses are assumed to have been paid by his father, Alan. Mr Dee is fiercely proud of his son's dedication.
"It is a tribute to his perseverance," he said. "He doesn't drink. He trains five hours a day. He is an absolute tribute for any young tennis player."
A neighbour of the Dee family was less kind: "His parents have never given up hope of him making it - they probably even think he'll win Wimbledon but frankly he's a bit rubbish."
- INDEPENDENT
