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There are several things you need for a good game of tennis: a glorious summer afternoon, a good court to play on, a racquet and balls. And in between games, you'll need a cool, refreshing drink (Sod the barley water, get out the XXXX!).

Finally, you'll need an opponent who likes loud music and lager, and who is also supremely fit - not an easy task! So instead, why not stay indoors like all good armchair sportspeople, and play Pro Tennis Tour, a tennis simulation from French software house, Ubi Soft?

You can play either against the computer (there are three skill levels) or another lager-loving headbanger on a court viewed from the usual TV angle (from above and behind one of the players). A novel technique is used to control the direction of shots (including the serve). As you are about to hit the ball, a yellow cross appears on the court - this must be positioned where you want the ball to go. When a particularly brilliant winning shot is played, the replay mode shows the entire rally on a spinning miniature 3D court!

The cross also indicates to your opponent where to stand to return your shot. This sounds terribly easy, but with the blistering pace at which the game is played, such a simple task becomes very tricky. So to help budding Boris Beckers, the game includes a training machine which can be programmed to churn out balls in six different patterns. There's also a special practice option for serving.

When you think you can hit the ball more often than not, it's time to take on the computer players in the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, played at the world's most famous venues: Melbourne, Paris, Wimbledon, and Flushing Meadow. Starting off at 64th in the world, you can improve your ranking by winning matches. And as it's likely to take a long time to get to No. 1, there's a useful save facility.

I'm always an avid watcher of Wimbledon - the tennis, silly, not the football team! So I couldn't wait to get my hands on Pro Tennis Tour. Ubisoft aren't renowned for sports sims, but if this is anything to go by I hope they do many more.

Pro Tennis Tour is definitely the most realistic tennis game I've seen, played at a frenetic pace that leaves you literally gasping! The difficulty of hitting the ball is disconcerting at first, but once mastered, the novel hitting technique works really well.

And when you do hit a reall good shot, you're rewarded with a mind-blowingly brilliant 3D replay. Great stuff!

Pro Tennis Tour is beautifully presented with a well laid-out court, good animation of the players, and a vast array of options. But even after hours of practice, I still found it difficult to hit the ball. Even so, the 'aim of the cross' hitting technique makes a refreshing change from previous tennis sims and allows you to play the ball exactly where you want, if you can time it right!

With fast realistic action, cheering crowds and a superb replay mode, Pro Tennis Tour has a wonderful Centre Court atmosphere - so good in fact that I've been able to sell strawberries and cream to the rest of the Zzap! team at extortionate prices!

Presentation 91%
Plenty of practice and play options. Invaluable save facility.

Graphics 85%
Good 3D perspective, well animated sprites and excellent replay mode.

Sound 78%
Unremarkable music, but atmospheric samples.

Hookability 80%
A lot of fun, although hitting the ball initially difficult.

Lastability 91%
Once the hitting technique is mastered, the desire to beat the tough computer opponents should keep you playing for a long time.

Overall 88%
Undoubtedly the best tennis sim yet.