ROOKIE Ryan Peniston produced a huge Queen’s upset and then thanked his parents for guiding him through his toddler cancer scare.
On his ATP Tour debut, the British No 7 shocked French Open finalist and world No 5 Casper Ruud 7-6 7-6 in the first round.
The Southend southpaw has banked £27,000 prize money for reaching the second round and his Wimbledon wildcard has earned him a minimum of £50,000.
Peniston, 26, had rhabdomyosarcoma – a soft tissue cancer – as a child and underwent long bouts of chemotherapy and also needed surgery to remove a tumour.
He said: “I was diagnosed aged one and had chemotherapy which lasted about 18 months. It was definitely a difficult start to my life.
“I don’t remember much about it. But for my parents and my brothers it must have been a pretty tough time.
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“I had amazing doctors and nurses that helped me through that and my family, well huge thanks to them.
“I hope they are proud of me. I’m sure they will be emotional.
“I can’t really believe this win, it feels like a dream. I didn’t get much sleep last night, it doesn’t feel real.
“It’s a bit surreal, four or five years ago I was sitting over there in the stands watching. I’ll need a bit of time to process it.”
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