Fleming and Skupski lift second title on ATP Tour

Published on Monday 2 November 2009 22:00

A SECOND ATP Tour win in as many months has seen Stirling graduate Colin Fleming catapult himself up the rankings.

Fleming and doubles partner Ken Skupski held their nerve to win the St Petersburg Open on Sunday.

The victory, completed courtesy of a thrilling tie-break against French pairing Jeremy Chardy and Richard Gasquet 2-6, 7-5, 10-4, has seen the Linlithgow star jump 14 places up to 53 in the ATP World Tour doubles rankings.

It also meant a cheque for $38,250 – about 23,500 – and more main draw opportunities in 2010, including probable entry to the Australian Open in January.

Fleming and his Liverpudlian team-mate won their first ATP Tour event at the end of September, taking the men’s doubles title in Metz.

Then, in October, they saw off the challenge of two-times Queen’s Club finalist Sebastian Grosjean and doubles partner Olivier Patience in the Orleans Challenge Tour final.

But the Russian result is the biggest yet for the 25-year-old, who graduated from the University of Stirling with first class honours in Economics and Finance.

He and Skupski’s combined determination shone through as the pair faced deciding tie-breaks in three out of four matches.

In round one, a 10-7 tie-break win was enough to end the challenge of Rohan Bopanna and 2008 St Petersburg doubles winner Travis Parrot. Singles finalist Horacio Zaballos and Pablo Cuevas, both ranked in the top 50 at singles, fell to Fleming and Skupski 7-6, 2-6, 10-8.

The semi-final proved slightly more straightforward, Fleming and Skupski winning 7-6, 6-4 against the Israeli pairing Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, who is ranked in the top ten at doubles.

Next up for Fleming is the Jersey-2 Challenger Tour event, starting on Monday 9 November, where he hopes to compete in both singles and doubles.

University of Stirling High Performance Coach Euan McGinn, who has worked with Colin since the age of 16, said: “I’m delighted for Colin and Ken. They have come up against some really talented players and come out on top.

“To get back-to-back ATP Tour wins proves they are world-class competitors, capable of playing at that level consistently. And to hold their nerve in the tie-breaks shows they have the energy levels and drive to climb even higher up the rankings.”

Meanwhile, the on-campus Gannochy National Tennis Centre at Stirling will play host to the Scottish Grand Prix from 19-22 November. Featuring several senior internationalists, the 64 men’s draw and 32 women’s draw event is open to the public, with free entry.