Jamie Murray says that the re-emergence of his old friend Colin Fleming as a doubles player of genuine potential could result in the pair being reunited in top-flight competition.

Jamie Murray says that the re-emergence of his old friend Colin Fleming as a doubles player of genuine potential could result in the pair being reunited in top-flight competition.

Fleming has been charging up the world rankings in recent weeks, having rejoined the Tour in late July after a break of two years, during which he completed his education and worked for Scottish Power.

Murray is still looking for a regular partner to replace the Belarussian Max Mirnyi, from whom he split after the US Open in September, and said there was no reason he and Fleming could not play together again.

"When we were playing before, I thought we were going to get to the top, play on the Tour and do it together," Murray said. "Now, if he gets his ranking back up where it was before, then I can't see why we wouldn't team up and play some tournaments together."

Fleming and Ken Skupski, a left-hander from Liverpool, are unbeaten together, having won three consecutive events on the Futures Circuit and then, earlier this month, adding the title in their first tournament on the Challenger circuit, one rung below the ATP Tour.

Fleming has already improved his doubles ranking to No.423 and, though he needs to continue rising if he is to gain entry into top-level tournaments, Murray said he believed his old partner had all the attributes to make it.

"At doubles, I think he can be at the top level," said the former Wimbledon mixed doubles champion. "When we stopped playing together, we were ranked about No.150, doing well in Challengers and ready to make a push for it. He returns so well, is very good up at the net and he is serving pretty big as well.

"I know he can get back to that level and higher. In fact, that is more than probable. I think it's very possible that he gets back there and into the bigger tournaments. I'm really happy for him that he decided to come back and that he's doing so well so soon."

The two Scots were side by side for almost two years on the men's circuit and, by the summer of 2006, had climbed to well inside the world's top 200 and made their debut at Wimbledon.

Fleming, though, was feeling stale and, having deferred midway through his economics and finance degree at Stirling University to try his luck on the tennis circuit, he decided to return to Scotland to finish his education.

While Murray teamed up with Eric Butorac, the American, and won three ATP Tour titles, Fleming finished his degree and began a job with Scottish Power.

Ten months later, though, Fleming had got the tennis itch and, after steady progress initially, the 24-year-old claimed his first singles tournament in 2 years, at the Futures event in Sunderland, earlier this month.

Though Fleming has singles aspirations too - he is presently ranked No.668 - it is in doubles where he is making real inroads and he is scheduled to stay with Murray in London next month, to practice at the National Training Centre, in Roehampton, before going to the Czech Republic for two more Challenger events.

As for Murray, though he ended the year ranked a career-high No.28 in men's doubles and reached the final of the mixed doubles at the US Open, with American Liezel Huber, he admitted that his lack of success with Mirnyi had dented his confidence.

"I didn't really have such a great year with Max; it wasn't quite what we had hoped it would be," Murray said. "We struck up a really good friendship and we tried really hard but it just didn't happen, which is a shame.

"For a while I was looking forward to the whole season being over. I got down about it a bit, but the more you put yourself in the firing line the more you learn to roll with it. Each week, I've just got to put in a good shift and try hard."

With Ross Hutchins also emerging as a world-class doubles player - heisnow ranked No.45 - to join Jamie and Andy Murray, the world No.4, the British contingent is growing all the time, something Jamiesaid was more than welcome. "For us it's nice to be in a group and if Colin gets there too, it will be even better," he said.