Tennis marvel savours winning return

THEY are both 6ft 3in, 20-something tennis ace Scots who picked up a racket as kids and found they could hit a ball around a court rather well.

But while Andy Murray went on to became a singles star snapping at the heels of the sport's modern legends, Colin Fleming opted to quit tennis and concentrate instead on his university studies.

Now, though, the Linlithgow-based player is back – and he's preparing to step out from his former Scottish junior mate's shadow to hopefully hit a few well placed aces of his own.

This week he's been in Florida for the latest tournament in the ATP World Tour alongside the other half of what's been dubbed "Team Flemski" – Liverpool-based doubles partner Ken Skupski.

Theirs is a long-distance match made in tennis heaven – playing as a team for barely over a year and they're already placed 56th in the world rankings.

News last week that both are in the Davis Cup squad for matches in Lithuania next month has boosted their hopes that this might be year Flemski break into the coveted top 50 best doubles team in the world.

It's a remarkable achievement for the 24-year-old Scot who walked away from tennis four years ago to focus on university and then work, only to realise it wasn't quite so easy to shake off the tennis bug.

"It was a big decision to take that break, everyone expected me to keep going," he says, referring to his decision to quit the sport in 2006 to concentrate on his first-class honours degree and start work for ScottishPower.

"Then, after nine or ten months of working, I just decided that in later life I might regret not giving tennis my fullest shot.

"I thought maybe it wasn't too late it give it another go."

It seems he made the right decision. Since his return to the circuit in 2008, Colin's been on a breathless global journey that's taken in one continent after the next, notching up a decent share of match wins in the process.

And even if Team Flemski's Florida outing turned out to be brief – they lost their first-round match to wildcard pairing Taylor Dent and Ryan Harrison after a hard fought 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 match – Colin is clearly enjoying his second chance to fulfil his tennis dreams and see the world in the process.

"Yeah, it's a pretty tough life," he laughs, referring to a lifestyle that revolves around smart hotels and jet-set travel.

Play tennis and see the world? "Absolutely, but it has been a pretty crazy start to the year," he says.

"I can count on two hands the number of days I've been home in Linlithgow since the year began. Definitely no more than seven or eight I reckon."

He reels off the whistle-stop visits to a variety of countries. "There was India and then Australia for the Open," he begins, "then we came back then went to Zagreb in Croatia, then San Jose in California, we flew back and then went to Marseilles in France.

"We get back from Florida and next thing will be the Davis Cup in Lithuania."

It sounds glamorous and exciting, but Colin points out that life on the road isn't all it seems.

"You don't really get much of a chance to enjoy the places you are in," he explains. "Sometimes the most exciting thing about it is the hotel room service.

"If you're doing well in a tournament there's a chance you'll get some time off to have a look around. Otherwise, you pack up and head off as soon as you can to get home, get training and prepare for the next trip."

There was hardly even time for him to absorb some of the "Murray mania" that surrounded fellow Scot and childhood mate Andy's dynamic journey into the final of the Australian Open against the robotic tennis force known as Roger Federer.

Colin and partner Ken were so busy celebrating their own Grand Slam breakthrough – they reached the second rung of the tournament before buckling – that the hysteria surrounding Murray went by them until they arrived home.

"We were focused on doing our own thing," Colin says. "It was only when we got back that we picked up on the incredible buzz it had created.

"His time will come. He'll win a Grand Slam tournament one day," Colin predicts. "And hopefully the knock-on effect is that it will bring a lot more young people into the sport."

For the elite who reach the top, the rewards can be astronomical – financially and in terms of global fame.

But while world number three Spanish ace Rafael Nadal has recently made the leap from tennis court to showbusiness – he stars in Latin pop princess Shakira's new video – Colin quickly points out that life for a less high ranking tennis pro is less thrilling.

"I can't say the idea of fortune and fame isn't very appealing," he grins. "But the reality for most of us isn't anything like that.

"Besides, I don't know what my girlfriend would say about being in a Shakira video!"

In fact, the travelling and the training – a typical day involves four hours on the court and perhaps another one or two fitness training in the gym – means there's not a lot of spare time to spend with his partner of five years, Gemma Pimbley.

But a settled home life has to be sacrificed if the former Linlithgow Academy pupil is to make the grade, second time around.

He recalls being about eight when dad Martin took him to Linlithgow Tennis Club, just a short walk from the family home.

Soon he was beating older siblings Michael and Laura. Later, he'd hit the Scottish juniors circuit with Dunblane-born brothers Andy and Jamie Murray.

The trio virtually grew up together playing for their clubs in the Central District League and travelling to tournaments accompanied by the Dunblane brothers' mum Judy, a Scottish national coach.

But while Andy pursued his tennis schooling at the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona, Colin opted for Stirling University to study economics and finance.

Still, like a classic rally between two baseline players – with academia at one side of the court, sport at the other – Colin faced a personal battle over which deserved his full attention.

After three years of intense studies, he took time out to partner best mate Jamie Murray in the men's doubles at Wimbledon and even achieved Davis Cup selection.

By 2006, he decided to finally quit tennis to concentrate on his degree and to start work for ScottishPower.

Match point in this particular thriller, however, eventually went to tennis.

Colin couldn't shake the nagging feeling that tennis was unfinished business. By August 2008, he had teamed up with Skupski and a string of impressive results followed, including a place in the quarter-final at last year's Aegon Championships at Queen's Club.

Since then, Flemski have been Lawn Tennis Association player of the month twice – the first team to win the accolade – and recently named British Team of 2009.

No wonder Colin's name is now being mentioned as part of the "golden generation" of Scottish tennis stars, alongside the Murrays and Elena Baltacha.

"We all just loved the game," he says, recalling their days slogging it out as Scottish juniors.

"We loved to compete, we had a lot of fun when we were younger, we all kept progressing and we kept on playing."

And as for the future? There are certainly no plans to let this second chance at tennis glory slip away.

"It's all about playing in bigger tournaments, getting up the ranks," he says.

"If we could break through into the top 50, then great. And top 30 would be fantastic.

"I'm enjoying what I'm doing, I want to work hard at it and make money at it. I'm in this for the long haul."