Saying good-bye to a sport you love is almost as difficult as finding the right soul mate to spend your life with. In the romantic comedy Wimbledon, Peter Colt faces both of these challenges. As an ailing tennis star whose ranking has slipped from number 11 to 119, he doesn’t need a bonk in the head from a tennis ball to get the picture.

After landing a wild card spot in the Wimbledon tournament, Peter (Paul Bettany) approaches the game with a bit of melancholy. He knows his tennis game is through. In fact he’s already accepted a job at a tennis club where he’ll spend his days showing the old men how to swing and fending off the invitations of the overly eager aging women.

Although Peter is somewhat in the dumps when he plays his first match, he wins. He’s not sure if it’s skill, a bit of luck, or the fact that he met Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst), a rising young tennis star whose bewitching smile and flirtatious attitude definitely brightened his day.

Lizzie is dating tennis champ Jake (Austin Nichols), but she can’t seem to get Peter off her mind. She’s at the top of her game and determined to win Wimbledon. Until now, men have been an amusing pastime to fill in between matches, but Peter is different. Lizzie and Peter  begin to see each other during games and soon can’t stay away from each other. This presents another problem, since Lizzie’s overbearing dad (Sam Neill) follows her like a shadow. He wants to ensure that his daughter’s decision not to allow love to get in the way of her game is carried out.

In making Wimbledon, director Richard Loncraine managed to meet two challenges: pulling off the right chemistry between the lead actors and making the tennis aspects of the film appear real. His leading man, Englishman Paul Bettany, has certainly earned his acting stripes. Moviegoers began to notice him when he played Russell Crowe’s roommate in A Beautiful Mind, and Bettany exhibited the breadth of his talent when he played Dr. Stephen Maturin in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

Although Bettany had never taken on a romantic comedy before or acted in a film about sports, he was up for both challenges. I happened to be visiting a friend in Mexico when Bettany was staying next door while filming Master and Commander. He was taking tennis lessons and put a lot of energy into learning the game. The actors didn’t have to sweat making the ball hit the right mark, however, as they only had to learn the how to serve. Computer Graphics (CG) made sure all the balls hit the right spot.

Dunst liked the task of beefing up her tennis skills. “Kirsten moves well and is quite elegant in her tennis scenes,” said tennis advisor and coach Pat Cash. “She was good in practice, but when it was “rolling, action,” she was fantastic.”

To make sure Wimbledon had the authenticity of real tennis action, American commentator Mary Carillo, tennis champs John McEnroe, John Barrett and Chris Evert all have small roles in the film as themselves.

Bettany and Dunst found the right chemistry to ensure a believable love story. They’re both beautiful on screen. Dunst has a natural entertaining quality and a pleasurable smile that draws one in to whatever role she plays. Bettany is charming as well and made the comedy aspects of the film look easy.

“Kirsten’s character feels that she can’t have a career and a relationship at the same time,” Bettany explained, “while my character actually plays better tennis once he’s fallen in love with her.”

It’s intriguing to watch the juxtaposition of these characters’ conflict. Falling in love will kill Lizzie’s chances of winning her tournament, but that’s the only thing helping Peter win his matches. Wimbledon really comes down to deciding which match is more important,  and while the movie isn’t Oscar-caliber, it’s exactly what it sets out to be -- funny and romantic.

(Released by Universal Pictures and rated “PG-13” for language, sexuality and partial nudity.)