A YOUNG Preston lad who has proved a smash hit on the tennis courts is hoping to net a top prize when he competes in a national tournament.

Chris Llewellyn, 13, of Lappett Grove, Preston, will travel to Torquay for the semi-finals and finals of the Hertz Number One Cup next week after fighting off tough competition from hundreds of tennis hopefuls up and down the country.

The Broughton County High School pupil is aiming to follow in the footsteps of his idol -- Swedish tennis ace Magnus Norman -- when he attends the weekend event on March 10.

Sporty Chris has been a member of South Ribble Tennis Club, in Bamber Bridge, for around three years and practises at the club nearly every day.

He has been playing the sport since he was eight-years-old and won the Lancashire Championships in August last year and a second regional championship just before Christmas.

He said: "When I first started playing I lived in Nottingham and my dad used to hold coaching sessions. I just went along one day and seemed to get the hang of it really quickly. "We moved to Preston three years ago and nowadays I play virtually every day, sometimes twice a day."

The Hertz Number One Cup is a year long competition which begins at the same time as the prestigious Wimbledon championships and continues until the end of summer.

As a Round Robin Tournament players get the chance to compete against each other, even after a defeat, instead of being knocked out after losing a match.

At the Torquay finals players can also bag some great prizes including T-shirts, certificates, trophies, trainers and sportswear.

Chris will be one of only four regional champions in the U14s category.

He said: "I really admire Magnus Norman the most as well as the Wimbledon champion Andre Agassi.

"I'm really hopeful of doing well in the event. My weakness is my smash but I'm good at forehand and volleying. But I am really excited about going to Torquay -- it should be great."