Colin Fleming is back starting to make inroads into the world rankings. Two years after retiring from the tennis circuit, the Linlithgow player is hungrier than ever to make an impact.

Jamie Murray’s former doubles partner has claimed a number of notable scalps since returning to the Futures circuit and he steps up a level this month when he plays in a Challenger event in Jersey.

“I’ve comfortably played in the main draw of Challenger events before so I should be okay but you just don’t know,” said the 24 year-old.

“I might go back and be out of my depth but it is something I have to do as I want to keep progressing. I’ve come from nothing to around 800 in the world rankings in the past few months, so that’s not too bad.”

Fleming initially pulled himself away from the demands of the circuit to finish his degree at Stirling University and then he had a 10-month stint with Scottish Power as part of their graduate recruitment programme.

For the first time in his life, he had the comfort of money in his pocket but he was never far away from a tennis court and played for Giffnock in the Scottish Cup and also represented his local club Linlithgow in the national league.

It was not a case of him regretting his previous decision to give up but rather a nagging doubt of having a what-might-have-been feeling later in life.

“It was a bold step to make,” he admits, “But I didn’t want to go through my life regretting that I’d given up too soon. Now is my time and I’ll never get it back again. I want to see how far I can go.

“When I stopped playing before it was when I was higher than ever before in the rankings at singles (365) and at doubles (184) and I just want to see how far I can take it.

“I think I’m more mature now and that has helped me in my matches. Before I could get quite down if I lost a match but everyone can have a bad day in any career and it’s just a case of moving on to the next match.

“It is tough being on the circuit. You’re travelling to tournaments on your own and the opportunity for self-doubt is quite high.

“You have to believe in yourself and in what you’re doing and not let individual losses get to you.”

The circuit can be unforgiving and there is not a pot of gold at the end of Futures events and that is why Fleming is indebted to his alma mater Stirling University ,and Glasgow firm Perfect Storm Digital Marketing, for providing some financial backing.

He wants to give it his best shot and prove that he has made the right decision in pursuing his tennis ambitions.

“I want to keep it going as long as physically possible. People ask me how long I’m going to give it but I don’t want to put a timescale on it,” he underlines.

“As long as I feel I am making progress, then I’ll keep going. As long as the debt collectors are not knocking at the door, then I’ll give it a shot.

“You never know what opportunities can come up and I just want to give it my best shot. I don’t want to look back thinking that I stopped too soon.

“I have a degree behind me now and playing at this level means there is also a good opportunity to go into tennis coaching when I finish playing.”

RM
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