WOKINGHAM tennis star Marcus Willis believes 2011 will be his "breakthrough" year.

The 20-year-old budding professional had a slow start to the season on the ATP Tour before finishing strongly in both singles and doubles events.

And though he remains 605 in the world rankings, Willis is confident he has the ability to leap up the table in the year ahead.

"I had a slow start to the year and only played in a limited number of tournaments," he explained. "I found it tough to pick up ranking points, but the last two months have gone really well.

"I've made a couple of semi-finals, qualified for two Challenger events and I've beaten some quality players in the top 200 in the world along the way.

"I've been working really hard on my fitness and I feel I'm getting stronger all the time. With a bit of luck next year could be a good one."

Willis' personal highlight last year was beating Swiss ace George Bastl in the AEGON International qualifier in Eastbourne in the summer. Bastl was once ranked 79 in the world and famously defeated the legendary Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 2002.

Willis also claimed the scalp of Ecuador's No.2 at Nottingham and he knows that on his day he is a match for anyone.

"I just want to really breakthrough this year, that's my aim," he declared. "If I keep working at my game then I really believe it will happen.

"If it goes well then I think jumping 300 world ranking places is not impossible, it's just a confidence thing. There are a lot of strong players in Europe but my dream goal is to reach the top 100."

The talented left-hander, coached by Victor Roubanov, is forming a growing army of admirers in the sport including ex-Great Britain Davis Cup captain John Lloyd and even former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash.

He is also making a splash on the doubles circuit following his victory at the ITF Futures event in Greece recently.

In a close final, Willis and partner Daniel Glancy defeated Irish duo Sam Barry and Colin O'Brien 7-5, 5-7, 10-8 to take the title.

Willis also reached final of AEGON GB Pro-Series in Nottingham where he and partner Sean Thornley lost 13-11 in an exciting tie-break.

The pair's form has taken them into the top 400 in the world in doubles.

"Our aim is to play at Wimbledon again next year," added Willis. "It's going very well on that front. I've been training out in Turkey and Egypt recently and I'm hoping to play in a lot more tournaments soon."

Willis currently receives some Lawn Tennis Association backing and is also sponsored by Theale-based company Teneo. As part of the sponsorship, he works closely with Theale Green School and the local community and is also involved with the Live and Kicking charity.

But there will be little rest for Willis over the Christmas period as he prepares for his next singles event, the ATP Great Britain F1 Futures in Glasgow on January 11.