WHEN JOHN Lloyd called a premature halt to the Davis Cup play-off process on Thursday night there were some who considered it an anti-climax. For Colin Fleming, though, one look at the bigger picture reminded him it had served its purpose.
Despite beating Dan Evans in the week's second round of matches, defeat to Josh Goodall in the opening day had apparently already sealed his fate. British No.3 Goodall also won his second match and was therefore given the nod, alongside Chris Eaton,
whose record also read played two, won two. But with the two vacant Davis Cup berths filled, Fleming was still invited to travel with the GB squad as a standby. It is far beyond what he could have hoped for if the play-off system had not been introduced.
The Scot, who took a study sabbatical and only returned to the scene six months ago, is subsequently ranked 11th in Britain, but was still considered a player with enough potential and spirit to earn a shot at winning his inclusion.
"Because I have been out so long, my ranking is false and I'm pleased they recognised that and gave me a chance. I knew I would be competitive."
He proved as much and will be one of the two travelling standbys when the team arrive at Braehead in Glasgow this week to take on Ukraine. While he does not wish ill on any of those in the squad, he says he would jump at the opportunity to fill in if required.
"I always believe I can be competitive and, obviously, Andy (Murray] has a virus so we don't know what is going to happen with him but if anything happens to him or any of the other guys, I am going to work hard to be ready to play a rubber if I'm needed. I always love playing in Scotland and this would be great. But we will have to wait and see what happens."
The former Stirling University student was a hitting partner for the British No.1 when Murray returned home over Christmas and with a game that suits both doubles and singles, he is decent understudy material. The selection format was altered after British No.2 Alex Bogdanovic was dropped, his poor record of no wins in six Davis Cup outings enough to convince Lloyd that fresh faces were needed to team up with Andy Murray.
"Other than Andy, who is out on his own at the moment, I don't think there is that much between the rest of us," says Fleming. "And anyone who watched any of the matches at Roehampton this week could tell you how much we all wanted to be part of things and how much we wanted to win our matches and make it into the team. We were all fighting as hard as we could and no-one could question how badly we wanted it. So maybe it helps to have to fight for some things."
It certainly helped focus the minds of the six wannabe Davis Cup debutants.
"Initially I was shocked when they decided not to play the matches that were scheduled for Friday because I knew that if I could win that then there was a good chance of making the team but things worked out differently and I didn't get that chance. But looking at the bigger picture, I have to be pleased to even be in the frame. If it wasn't for the play-offs I wouldn't have had any chance."
Knowing the Davis Cup slots were up for grabs had been a driving force for those invited to battle it out and Fleming says it has helped push his game on to another level as he attempts to regain and then surpass his previous highest ranking. That was in 2006, the year he played in the Wimbledon doubles with Jamie Murray. His singles ranking too was progressing nicely but he decided his mind, and more importantly his heart, wasn't in it. He took time out to complete his studies at Stirling University, graduating in 2007 with a first-class honours degree in economics and finance. He then took on a job with Scottish Power.
Then he had his road-to-Damascus moment. He knew that if he didn't throw everything at the sport now, his best years would be behind him and all he would have would be regrets for souvenirs.
Since his return he has been playing the way those who remember him would expect, but stunning those who don't. Based on the seven months he has been back in the game, he is ranked 585th in the world at singles and 319th in doubles, but his performances in the lower echelons, where he has made brisk work of the other lowly ranked players, suggests he could scurry up a couple of hundred ranking positions before the year is out. That is the target.
"I am hoping to get myself back into the Challenger level at doubles and into the top 300, even 250, in singles. I was ranked 370 in the past and it took two and a half years to get there so to aim for higher than that in my first year back is ambitious but realistic."
Hoping for a shot at Davis Cup tennis seven months into a comeback would have been considered more than ambitious at the outset but now it is precariously close to realistic.
The full article contains 923 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
