Fleming makes his mark

GREAT Britain captain John Lloyd praised Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski after a four-set doubles win yesterday established a 2-1 lead over Lithuania going into the final day of their Davis Cup clash at the SEB Arena in Vilnius.

After James Ward's win and Dan Evans' defeat on Friday, the middle rubber was always going to play a major role in deciding the outcome of the Europe/Africa Zone Group Two tie.

The British pair got off to a flying start against Laurynas Grigelis and Dovydas Sakinis and after the hosts upped their game the 'Flemski' partnership were relieved to come through 6-0 6-7 (2/7) 7-5 6-3 for what was the first British victory in a doubles rubber since 2007.

"We feel like we've merited our place in this tie," said Fleming, who hails from Linlithgow. "It's something we've always wanted to do. It feels very good to have played well. Evo (Evans] showed on Friday that (Ricardas] Berankis is beatable, so Wardy's got a good chance, and Dan's ready to go out and do his bit for the team."

Lloyd's team now know victory in the tie would bring a British Isles derby against Ireland, who won their doubles rubber against Turkey today to move into an unassailable 3-0 lead. The captain is confident his singles players have what it takes to wrap up proceedings.

He said: "It's a nice feeling to be ahead going into the final day. I expected this scoreline after two days. I would have loved to have 3-0, but plans are still where they are. We've got to win one of these singles, and I think we can do it."

Lloyd praised the performance of his doubles pair, adding: "Ken and Colin kept their composure, they were very professional, they didn't waver. I told them their chance would come; just keep digging in, you will get the opportunity, and sure enough they did and, when they did, they took it. So it was a good experience and I learned a lot."

Lithuania captain Remigijus Balzekas had hinted he could give a debut to 15-year-old Lukas Mugevicius, but in the end he opted for Grigelis and Sakinis – who are hardly veterans at 18 and 17 respectively.

Fleming and Skupski proved a revelation on the ATP World Tour last season, winning two titles and claiming some notable scalps. The start of this year has been more of a struggle, but they were still big favourites going into the match.

Fleming made his debut in a five-set loss against Ukraine alongside Ross Hutchins last year, but for Skupski this was a first Davis Cup experience.

Although they didn't get things all their own way, the pair did enough to get the job done.