STUART FRASER

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TENNIS
SCOTTISH TENNIS SUCCESS
Freelance Article
By Stuart Fraser
Sunday 27^th September 2009

SCOTTISH tennis is on a high note after a remarkable week which saw four Scots picking up titles across the globe.

In a week where World No.3 Andy Murray was not in action after Great Britain’s disastrous Davis Cup defeat to Poland last weekend, his compatriots did their bit to lift some of the gloom surrounding British tennis.

Colin Fleming achieved the most stunning result of the week with his first ATP tour doubles title at the Open de Moselle in Metz, France.  Along with partner Ken Skupski, the duo defeated former Wimbledon champions Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra in yesterday’s final 2-6, 6-4, 10-5.

The win sees Fleming break the top 100 in the doubles world rankings and the 25-year-old was delighted with the ranking points which come with an ATP title.

He said: “This is our first ATP title and no-one can ever take that away from us but in terms of the long-term plan, the ranking points are so important because it means we’re closer to playing ATP level events all the time, which is where we want to be.”

Fellow doubles player Jamie Murray also continued his recent run of good form with his third title in the space of five weeks.  Murray and Jamie Delgado won the challenger event in Ljubljana, Slovenia on Friday and the win will see him return to the top 100 after dropping to No.135 at the start of August.

Murray said: “It’s been a pretty solid week for us both and hopefully we can push on from here until the end of the season.”

Elena Baltacha is another player who will enter the top 100 in today’s rankings after winning the AEGON Pro Series event in Shrewsbury on Saturday and the daughter of former St Johnstone footballer Sergei is relieved she finally achieved a lifetime goal.

She said: “It means so much because I have been trying to get into the top 100 for my whole career.  It’s just nice that I have managed to break that barrier.”

There was also good news from the other side of the world with a win for Glasgow-born Jamie Baker in the ITF Futures event in Darwin, Australia.  Baker beat top seed John Millman in the final 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.