RISING star Toby Samuel served notice of his potential when he helped Great Britain under-14s reach the semi-finals of the European Summer Cup.

The 13-year-old from St Leonards was the youngest member of the three-man team which travelled to the Czech Republic for the qualifying stages, the other players being Yorkshire's Barney Fitzpatrick and Surrey's Benjamin Heynold.

Having beaten Portugal 3-0 and higher-seeded Poland 2-1, GB finished runners-up to the Czech Republic in the Zone A final, earning them an immediate spot on the plane for the quarter-finals in Murcia, Spain.

Following the singles clashes with Russia in the last eight, the match was tied but in the doubles, Bournemouth Collegiate School pupil Samuel and Fitzpatrick played superbly to secure a 6-2, 6-3 win and overall victory.

The semi-final against France started off a similar story with matters level after the singles. Samuel and Fitzpatrick then lost a tight first set in the doubles 7-5 but won the second 6-2, meaning a 10-point tie-break would decide their fate.

In a fiercely-contested battle, the French youngsters prevailed 10-7.

West Hants ace Samuel took on the number one under-14 player in the play-off for third and fourth places, Dalibor Svrcina, and lost 7-5, 6-3 in a hard-fought clash.

GB finished fourth overall which secured them a spot in the Under-14 World Junior Championships next month.

Samuel has had a number of recent successes including Tennis Europe doubles titles at the Stork International in Switzerland and the Nike Junior International in Nottingham.

He also won his first singles title on the European circuit, the Nike Junior International at West Hants, securing doubles success alongside Ali Hassan in the same competition.

Samuel's brother Rafe, eight, is hoping to follow in his sibling's footsteps. The Castle Court School pupil is the reigning under-nine Dorset champion. He plays on the national tour and has won several regional titles.

Rafe recently won the National Schools' Biathle Championships a year young as well as the Junior Wessex 200m and long jump crowns.

Elder brother Ben, 15, is the current English age group champion at 100m and 200m freestyle and has national titles in biathlon and biathle. The Bournemouth Collegiate School pupil is currently training for the ASA British and English Summer Championships.