IF YOUR childhood ambition is to play tennis for your country, there could be no greater advantage than having a tennis club right on your doorstep.

That was exactly the boon rising Merseyside tennis star Ken Skupski had as a youngster growing up in Mossley Hill, where the Palmerston Tennis Club was literally a few steps away from the back gate of his home.

He was also helped by having supportive parents, who would drive thousands of miles to take him to training sessions and tournaments around the country.

Now all the hard work and sacrifices are starting to pay off after Ken, 26, was selected for this year’s GB Davis Cup squad, along with World No 2 Andy Murray.

The tournament, which will be televised live on BBC2, is being staged at the Echo Arena from September 18 to 20.

Proud father Ken snr, 54, said: “Having a tennis club which backed on to our house was very good for Ken’s progress.

“He was on a tennis court from the age of four, as all you had to do was open a back gate and you were there.”

Ironically, Ken Skupski’s roots are in Poland – the very team Great Britain will be playing against in the Davis Cup.

His great-great-grandfather came over from Gdansk to Liverpool in the early years of the previous century to work at the city’s docks.

Tennis clearly runs in the family – Ken’s father, a policeman for nearly 30 years, was also a keen amateur tennis-player and is treasurer of Palmerston Tennis Club, while younger brother Neal is also hoping to turn professional.