Rising Scottish tennis star sets his sights on Wimbledon

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FROM East League tennis with Edinburgh's Blackhall club to this summer's men's singles at Wimbledon in five years is a remarkable journey by any standards - but is very much the goal of latest Scottish tennis sensation Colin Fleming.

To say the Linlithgow-based 21-year-old is a rising star of the serve and volley scene just doesn't do his advance justice.

For, in many ways Fleming is a throwback to a different, perhaps more genteel, era of tennis in that he opted to complete a university degree rather than chase the world in search of ranking points. Until now.

"He wanted to go down the university route and then have a go. He wanted to take time to mature and then decide his future with the benefit of a degree to fall back on," says coach Euan McGinn to no discernible objection from the prodigy himself sitting across the table.

Having more or less completed his Economics and Finance degree course at Stirling University Fleming - "I think I've put together enough work to justify my degree without recourse to honours" - is intent on making up for lost time as shown by the fact his singles world ranking has rocketed 72 places from 444 to 372 in the past three months.

In addition he has been causing heads to turn even more as one half of a doubles partnership involving fellow Scot Jamie Murray, brother of British No.1, Andy.

And the good news is that with a first assault on the British tournament season just about to be rolled out Fleming has barely started on his sojourn up the ratings hence the possibility of a Wimbledon wild-card.

"By my reckoning Jamie and I could be good enough for a direct entry to the doubles if things go well.

"Singles-wise if I could get myself up to around 275 in the world rankings that might meet the criteria for earning a British wild-card although a play-off system is in place for that form of entry," says the son of a West Calder assistant head teacher and businessman (he explains patiently his tennis-playing dad, Martin, has just moved on from a gas maintenance business and is looking around for his next opportunity).

If the season continues as it has begun then why not especially with Fleming drawing heavily on his experiences attached to the British Davis Cup squad in Glasgow last week as "the fifth man" in a four-strong team?

Such an opportunity to practise and train with the squad that included boyhood friend Andy Murray and former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski, pictured below right, has put a fresh spring in British No.16 Fleming's stride.

He says: "I learned an enormous amount from just being around the squad, Rusedski in particular.

"It wasn't so much what Greg said as observing the good habits of someone who has been on the pro. tour for 15 years and who has been as high as No.4 in the world.

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