ROMANTIC comedies from the Working Title Films stable - Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill amongst them - generally follow a tried and tested formula.

There's a dithering British bachelor, a glamorous yet emotionally scarred American love interest, a motley crew of dysfunctional family and friends, and a feel-good finale during which the stuttering hero plucks up the courage to declare his true feelings.

Wimbledon adheres slavishly to the rules and delivers laughter and tears aplenty, setting its central love story around the hallowed courts of The All England Lawn Tennis And Croquet Club, where Tim Henman's dreams of sporting immortality always come to naught.

British tennis player Peter Colt (Paul Bettany) was once ranked as high as 11th in the world but the journeyman veteran has slowly drifted down the rankings to his current standing at number 119.

Disenchanted with the game, Peter embraces the idea of voluntary retirement until he is gifted a wild card entry to Wimbledon, which he decides will be his final ever tournament.

A chance meeting with the bad girl of international women's tennis, Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst), sparks an unexpected affair that re-ignites Peter's lust for life.

Unthinkably, he wins his first round match and Peter puts this new-found court prowess down to Lizzie.

Despite their pitiful efforts at discretion, Peter and Lizzie's affair is exposed in the tabloids and her overprotective father Dennis (Sam Neill) is enraged.

"Stop calling her, stop coming around, stop every damn thing that involves my daughter," he barks at Peter.

But the romance secretly continues, and so too does Peter's winning streak as he lobs and volleys his way to Centre Court.

But as Lizzie tearfully points out, how can their relationship survive when "love means nothing in tennis"?

Wimbledon serves up an entertaining contemporary fairy-tale of triumph in the face of adversity.

At the film's heart is a touching romance, beautifully played by Bettany and Dunst, who catalyse a smouldering screen chemistry. They look mightily convincing with a racquet too.

Computer trickery brings the matches to life at dizzying speed, heightened with zooms and slow motion shots that sending us careering about the courts.

However, some of the special effects are rather unpolished. In at least one pivotal encounter, the ball defies gravity, hanging tantalisingly in the air while the players rush to hit it.

The supporting cast are strong, with great comic support from Eleanor Bron and Bernard Hill as Peter's beleaguered parents, and James McAvoy as his porn-loving brother.

Game, set and match: Wimbledon.

UCI, Odeon