Colin Fleming cannot recall the exact moment when he decided to return to professional tennis two years after retiring. It appears to have been a gradual dawning rather than a moment of epiphany.

Colin Fleming cannot recall the exact moment when he decided to return to professional tennis two years after retiring. It appears to have been a gradual dawning rather than a moment of epiphany.

Watching from a distance the rise and rise of his former doubles partner Jamie Murray would surely have played a part. So, too, the lingering sense that he never quite fulfilled his potential. The 24-year-old's decision to return to the circuit was not one he arrived at lightly but, then again, neither was the one to quit in the first place.

Fleming stepped back from the sport in August 2006, a month after making his Wimbledon debut in the men's doubles with Murray. It brought to an end a productive partnership that saw them break into the world's top 200. However, the opportunity to make further inroads was offset by the grinding monotony of life at the less glamorous end of the tennis circuit. In spite of his success, Fleming had become increasingly disillusioned. "I quit in August and I had been playing Wimbledon in July," he recalls. "I made the decision over the course of months. Even in the run up to Wimbledon I wasn't that happy. Usually when a tennis player is winning and doing well they are happy, but I just wasn't getting the highs that I should have been. That is why I knew I didn't want to do it anymore. I don't regret it."

Fleming had taken a sabbatical from his economics and finance degree at Stirling University to pursue his tennis dreams, but returned to his studies on retiring. "I am glad I got my degree behind me," said the Linlithgow player who started his comeback a couple of months ago.

"It is like my insurance policy. After graduating, I worked in the Scottish Power graduate programme and really enjoyed it. It was a great experience working for 10 months and I met lots of great people, but tennis started to come back into my mind. It became clear to me that I had to do it now if I was ever going to. When I stopped before, I had no intention of playing again. Now I am back I am glad I made the decision to return. I am really enjoying it."

When Fleming retired, Murray went on to almost unimaginable success in doubles. He formed an excellent partnership with Eric Butorac, with whom he won ATP tour titles, and went on to pick up the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Jelena Jankovic in 2007.

Murray also reached the mixed doubles final at this year's US Open with Liezel Huber. Fleming admits that the subsequent success of his close friend and former partner was part of his motivation to return.

"I don't think I saw myself and Jamie reaching that level. I don't mean that in a negative way, but what he has achieved has blown it out of all proportion. It is great to see. Because it is someone that you've played with it seems more realistic and achievable. In some ways there is a fine line between where we were then and where he has gone on to, but it is him who has made that jump up. I try to stay in touch with him as much as possible. We are both travelling so a lot of the time it is just by emails and texts."

Fleming, who will channel his energy into both singles and doubles for the time being, has returned to the circuit with renewed enthusiasm and feels he is better equipped to deal with the challenges of life on the road. "It's a tough life, travelling and being on your own a lot. It leaves you with a lot of time to think. I now have the maturity to know how to handle it better. I can schedule my tournaments better and make sure that I am not on the road for five, six or seven weeks at a time. I think a bit more maturity will also help me to own up to mistakes where before I would have made excuses. I am also physically more mature. I am stronger and fitter and can get round the court better. I've got as good a shot of doing as well as before, if not even better."

The Scot had a shaky start on his return to the circuit, but has rediscovered his form and yesterday progressed to the second round of a Futures tournament in Greece, where he faces the top seed. "I had a rough start but that is to be expected," he said. "I am playing as many matches as possible. I had a couple of weeks of hard training before I played a Futures tournament in Nottingham, where I made a semi and quarter-final and now I've had some good results in Greece. I am up against the Romanian top seed but, because of the level I was at before, I don't fear anyone. I've not come back to hang about the Futures circuit. When I played before I got a taster of playing at Wimbledon. I was also the fifth man in the Davis Cup squad. That is where every player wants to be and I believe I can get back to playing in those type of events."

Fleming has used Scotland as his training base throughout his career and believes the infrastructure is now in place for the country to produce even more talented players. Tennis Scotland have established the nation's first academy in partnership with St George's and Merchiston Castle schools in Edinburgh and the impact of the Murray brothers has boosted participation numbers. The academy also plan to invite senior players like Fleming, Jamie Baker and the Murrays to practise with the country's top juniors in a similar system to that of Spain. "Things have developed very encouragingly in Scotland," said Fleming. "I intend to train in Scotland when I am not on the road. I will make Stirling my base again. That will be great for me and hopefully benefit the up-and-coming juniors. There is now a good infrastructure in Scotland to produce the new generation of top players."