A young British man described as “the world’s worst tennis pro” appeared at the high court in London to sue the Daily Telegraph for ruining his professional reputation.

Robert Dee, 23, from Bexley in Kent, has already secured more than 30 apologies and tens of thousands of pounds in damages from media organisations that made similarly disparaging allegations about his sporting prowess.

But the Telegraph refused to back down over two articles on the front page and in the sports section on 23 April 2008 under the headlines “World’s worst ­tennis pro wins at last” and “A British sensation – the world’s worst”. The newspaper is ready to call high-profile ­witnesses, including Boris Becker and John Lloyd, the former British No 1 who is now captain of the Great Britain Davis Cup team.

The offending stories said Dee did not win a single match during his first three years on the professional circuit but finally ended this “dismal run” by beating an unranked 17-year-old in Spain in April 2008. One article, claiming Dee had lost 54 matches in a row, compared him to the ski jumper Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards and Eric the Eel, the Equatorial Guinea swimmer who struggled at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Helen Pidd, The Guardian.

Personally I don’t have the slightest interest in tennis and even less in the scummy rag that is the Daily Telegraph – what concerns me is that you can libel a player with such an appalling record by calling him the worlds worst tennis pro – which ever way you look at it Dee’s professional record isn’t something a young player aspires to – another example of our countries ridiculous libel laws.