Tennis: Fleming and Skupski ready for clash with Bryans

Fleming, from Linlithgow, and partner Ken Skupski won their first-ever doubles match at the All England to progress to the second round of a Grand Slam for the third time this season.

Nicolas Mahut, the unfortunate loser in the record-breaking 138-game clash with John Isner last week and fellow Frenchman Arnaud Clement, who was dumped out of the singles by Roger Federer, put up a valiant challenge against the British No.1 partnership.

But Skupski and Fleming held their nerve, particularly during a fourth set tie-break, to progress 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6.

They must now hope to repeat their win against the American brothers at Queen's a year ago, a result that announced their goal of establishing themselves as Britain's top double act.

Fleming said: "It gives us a bit of confidence but they won our last match, so maybe they will be feeling confident as well. We feel that on our day we can beat anyone now and that's the mindset we will take into the game.

"I think this match shows how far we've come in the last twelve months. Last year we might have lost but we came through this time and won both the tie-breaks. The more big tournaments and Grand Slams we play, the better we get at producing the goods in these sort of matches. It's all just good for confidence and experience."

Skupski and Fleming lost in their second round matches in previous Slams in Melbourne and Paris.

Mahut's record-breaking match with Isner meant he was a big draw for the crowd on the All England Club's Court 14.

Skupski admitted he watched Mahut's match with Isner with interest – each extra game taking it out of the Frenchman.

"I thought he looked pretty sharp, considering he'd just played for eleven hours," he said.