So you want to live... in a tennis player's paradise

How so?

How so?

With Wimbledon fast approaching, perfecting that wayward backhand volley takes on a new significance. And what better way than to practise in the privacy of your own exquisitely manicured grass court (which comes with a Grade II-listed, seven-bedroom country manor).

I'm more of a clay-court person...

Thankfully, you get one of those too (and so you should for the price). This one is also floodlit, so you can practise in to the wee hours of the morning, should the mood take you.

And what about the manor itself?

Its huge, boasting almost 8,000sq ft of twee interiors. On the ground floor you get a large reception hall (with a large open fireplace), three slightly stuffy reception rooms, a charming brick-walled, shaker-style kitchen and a suitably grand conservatory. Upstairs there is a separate granny flat and the seven bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Are the grounds anything to speak of?

As well as the two tennis courts, you get a pretty impressive series of connected gardens surrounded by yew hedges (one is a fabulous rose garden), featuring an ornamental pond, a central water fountain, a paved terrace area with a gravel path leading to the courts. Not to mention the strawberry fields - which interestingly have been used to supply Wimbledon tennis club.

What if tennis isn't my bag?

Well, there's also a separate squash court and, if equestrian pursuits are your thing, there's a stable and paddocks in which to house your prize-winning horse.

How much?

Mockbeggar, near Rochester, Kent is for sale at £800,000 via Strutt & Parker (01227 451123). And if you're feeling really flush, there's a second lot containing Little Mockbeggar, an attached three-bedroom, 2,188sq ft country home.