Will Nesbitt has had one memorable summer.

The 11-year-old Center Township resident has competed in three junior tennis tournaments over the last few months - and he won all three.

"Tennis is a fun sport to practice and it's good exercise," said Will. "It's fun whether I win or lose, but I really like winning."

The sixth grader at Center Township Elementary won the Glencreek Clay Court tournament in July and the Fox Chapel Junior Open and the Lakevue Tournament in August.

Although it might sound as if 11 is a young age, Will is a veteran when it comes to backhands and lob-shots.

"He started playing tennis when he was 3 years old," said Will's father, Scott, who introduced his son to the sport. "Back then, I'd bounce balls in his direction so he could hit them against a fence. He'd hit about one out of every 50."

"When I first started, I could barely pick up the racket," said Will.

He's certainly come a long way since then.

Will has four tournament wins under his belt, with the first coming in 2004 at the Oxford Athletic Club in Monroeville.

But his biggest win to date came at Fox Chapel two months ago.

"Fox Chapel is considered to be the Wimbledon of youth tennis around here," said Scott. "There are a lot of good players at these tournaments. It's very competitive."

At Fox Chapel, Will breezed through the first two rounds, but found himself down one set to Ross Molinaro in the semifinals.

He proceeded to pull out the last two sets, 7-5 and 6-1 to advance to the finals.

"I was pretty surprised it went three sets," said Will. "I was just trying to make a comeback, and I did."

With his toughest match of the tournament behind him, Will easily defeated Justin Carter in the finals, 6-0, 6-4.

He will compete at his first junior sectional event in Erie next month. The competition will include some of the best youth players from Pittsburgh to New Jersey.

Will has been taking lessons at Lakevue Racquet Club in Valencia for more than a year.

"Lakevue has indoor courts, so I can play year-round now," he said.

Will's first coach at Lakevue was Evan Schermer. He is now being instructed by Vikas Punna.

"Will's a good athlete," said Punna. "Right now, we're trying to get him to the highest level, and he's doing well with everything we're working on."

The amount of time Will spends perfecting his game is a decision his parents have left up to him.

"We've always had a policy that if he gets tired of it or just wants to take a break, we'd support him," Scott Nesbitt said. "But he's so dedicated toward getting better.

"Last summer, we wanted to see just how long he would stay on the court. We tried to tire him out, but he ended up playing for about 13 hours. We ended up just leaving because it was getting dark," he added, laughing.

Will's favorite stroke is the overhead slam, but he's working on other facets of his game.

"I'm working on a one-handed forehand with him right now," said Punna. "And he's doing well with it."

There appears to be no quit in Will, which is bad news for his future opponents.

"I want to play until I'm sixty," he said.