ROCHFORD teenager Tim Collett is hell-bent on breaking into the national rankings after making a big impact since arriving at the Sutton Tennis Academy.

The 16-year-old upped sticks from Essex and moved to south-west London in September after being offered a place on the renowned scholarship scheme, where former Davis Cup skipper Jeremy Bates is the director of tennis.

The former King Edmund School pupil is already making waves under the guidance of Bates and head coach Erwan Nicolas and recently replaced Marshall Osei-Tutu at the top of the Essex under-16 rankings.

And with other British teenagers such as Dan Evans and Daniel Cox already blazing a trail on the senior circuit - Collett is planning to join them sooner rather than later.

"It was a big decision to come here but it was something I always wanted to do and I'm determined to make the most of it," he said.

"I'm just starting to play a few British tours and if I can start to do well there then I can set my sights on something higher.

"I set myself attainable goals and in January I want to have reached a stage where I am ready to push for the national rankings."

Meanwhile, Bates - who joined the academy in July - is backing the Essex teenager to follow in the footsteps of one-time British No 1 Tim Henman and make his mark on the British Tour over the next few years.

Like Henman, who attended Reed's School as part of the David Lloyd Slater Squad between the ages of 10 and 17, Collett is continuing his education at Cheam High School while improving his game.

And with London's O2 Arena set to stage the renamed ATP World Tour Final from 2009, Bates believes there is no better time to be an aspiring young British player.

"Tim Henman showed you can learn and play tennis at the same time and go on and play professionally," said Bates, who won two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles during his illustrious 14-year career.

"You need the education but it also needs to be a realistic split between study and sport that you can tailor around the tennis - it will only help Tim at a later date.

"We are not going to turn everyone into a world champion because top 100 players don't grow on trees.

"My goal working with the likes of Tim Collett is to produce players who can play professionally and can compete professionally."

And Nicolas - who is responsible for the day-to-day progress of Collett and his fellow scholars -echoed Bates' views regarding the future of the Rochford Tennis Club star.

"Tim is No.1 in his county and the project for him is to achieve national ranking in two years," he said.

"We think he has got the ability to achieve that and he is a hard worker, a clever guy who can achieve his goals - now he just has to work."

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