NORTH Oxford begin their bid to become national champions today after enjoying a practice session at Wimbledon.

The team battle it out alongside seven other clubs in the showpiece of the LTA Team Tennis competition at West Hants in Poole.

And they enjoyed the ideal preparation at the All England Club.

The team of Jack Rooney, Jon Maskens, Ben Calnan, Jeff Hunter, Joe Cartledge and Cameron Price hit on clay courts at SW19 as well as Court No 2.

Captain Rooney said: “We had a amazing day practising.

“We started the day at 11, did drills on the clay for nearly two-and-a-half hours with Jon guiding us.

“After, we had lunch on the balcony where (Novak) Djokovic showed the trophy after his final win, followed by some snooker and table tennis – very competitive of course.

“We went to play some points for another one-and-a-half hours, some great rallies where Joe and Ben had some good battles.

“We had a special treat when we were able to play on the grass on court 2 as it was empty.”

North Oxford reached the final after being crowned South West champions.

DL Raynes Park, Roehampton, Dukes Meadow, Carisbrooke, Sutton, Manchester Northern and Lady Bay are in the draw.