Colin Flemingfeels sorry for GB's departed Davis Cup captain John Lloyd and backs decision to expand role

Published on Thursday 15 April 2010 23:20

MIXED emotions. For Colin Fleming, the phrase was never more appropriate than last month, when he and Ken Skupski won their Davis Cup doubles match in Lithuania.

It was the first time the pair had played together in the competition, and the Scot and the Liverpudlian should have been celebrating the latest victory for their increasingly successful partnership. Instead, they ended up on the losing side, as Great Britain went down to an ignominious 3-2 defeat, one which cost John Lloyd his post as captain.

Fleming believes that to a degree it was unjust that Lloyd should carry the can for the failings of the Davis Cup team, but also thinks that the role of the captain should be changed, to become more akin to a full-time post.

The fact that Leon Smith, appointed captain on Monday, was simultaneously named as the head of the men's game by the Lawn Tennis Association, has gone at least some way towards meeting Fleming's request.

"You look at it and say what more could John have done?" the 25-year-old from Linlithgow said. "He can't go out there and start hitting forehands himself. He picked the players that everyone would have. So it's hard to say the defeat was John's fault."

Both Lloyd and his predecessor Jeremy Bates took charge of the Davis Cup team for no more than a few weeks each year – the three-day match itself and the week building up to it. Rather than suggesting a named individual to take over as captain, Fleming thinks enhancing that limited involvement is the most important thing that the LTA can do.

"John and Jeremy were great when it came down to the Davis Cup week. The teams I've been involved in, the morale has been great. But I think it would be nice if there was more involvement. It's not their fault, John or Jeremy – that's just the way the role of the captain has been. It would be nice if the captain were involved more year-round so we could really tap into the experience they have had in the game.

"Every time I've been involved in the Davis Cup, because there's a training week before, I've come out of it a better player. My results after it have shown I've improved during that week.

"So if we can get even more access to that (expertise] in certain weeks outside the Davis Cup, be it at tournaments or in training, I personally think I could benefit from that. These guys have been great players in their time and good coaches, and have got a lot to offer the players."

Andy Murray's decision not to play in the Lithuania match was accepted at the time by Lloyd, who rightly suggested that Britain should not have to rely on one man to defeat a country with a fraction of the budget. Following his resignation, however, Lloyd criticised Murray, suggesting it should still be regarded as a privilege to play for one's country.

As a team member, Fleming would understandably like Murray to be involved whenever possible, but thinks that both for Murray's own sake and perhaps also for the greater good of the game, his fellow-Scot has made the right decision. "I've got a massive amount of respect for Andy and what he's done in the game. He's a phenomenal player. Britain might never have a player like that again.

"He has the potential to be the best in the world, and obviously his main focus is grand slams. He's been open about that, and taken the decision to streamline his schedule to give himself the best chance of getting a grand slam. To be honest, if he wins a grand slam, the benefit that would have on the game in Britain, and in Scotland in particular, would just be monumental."

Having partnered Andy's older brother Jamie earlier in his career, Fleming knows the Murray family well, and feels grateful to this day for the influence Judy Murray, the brothers' mother, had on his own career and on the state of Scottish tennis. "Judy had a big role to play in my upbringing as a tennis player. There was a great morale in tennis in Scotland when I was growing up, and I feel like there still is now.

"We just had great fun when we came to the court, we all wanted to be there, and we played our hearts out all through the age groups. We travelled together and had a real team atmosphere. I'm really thankful to Judy for that, because I'm loving what I'm doing right now, and she's given me the chance to do it in a lot of ways."

With Elena Baltacha at her highest ever ranking, and Jamie Baker continuing to make progress, Fleming can now turn up at major tournaments and feel that atmosphere again. "It's great to see so many Scottish players doing well," he said.

"At the Australian Open this year it was great to have Scottish players there. Judy was there as well, and it felt like a Scottish team, just like it was when we were juniors. It's a great feeling to still have now we're professional."