COLIN Fleming remembers how it all got started. The 31-year-old was part of the Great Britain Davis Cup squad which went down 3-2 to Lithuania in Vilnius in March 2010, a tie which left them staring hard at the humiliation of relegation to the third tier of the competition and proved to be John Lloyd’s last as captain.

In came a young, unknown Glaswegian called Leon Smith with a grand plan to return to the World Group, albeit a vision which, at first, would have to make do without Andy Murray. Those who dismissed his plans then as overly ambitious have discovered that, in fact, Smith’s goals were actually conservative. At a sell-out Emirates Arena in Glasgow this week, only Australia stand in the way of Team GB booking a place in their first Davis Cup final since 1978.

“I was part of the tie when we lost away to Lithuania in Group Two, and that proved to be John Lloyd’s last match as captain,” said Fleming. “It was unfortunate. I really enjoyed being part of the team under him. He gave me my debut, so I will always be grateful for that.

“Then, Leon came in and we played Turkey in Eastbourne. The pressure was on because if we had lost that, it would have been Group C, which is a totally different format, and not where we would want to be at all. The tie went really well, we won 5-0, then next up we played Tunisia in Bolton, and I remember Leon doing a presentation to the guys in the team hotel.

“The main theme was that we were on a journey back to the World Group. At the time, it seemed quite ambitious and optimistic, but it has proven to be a reality. Andy coming back on board has been a key thing. It makes a huge difference having him there, but it is amazing the journey from those days. It would be unbelievable to end it by winning the Davis Cup.

“Obviously, the team struggled for a while without Andy. There is no doubt about it, but it gave certain people a real chance to step up and play. Over the years, a few people have proven themselves in this arena. James Ward, obviously, while Dan Evans had some amazing Davis Cup results too.”

Smith has named a five-man squad for the match, with Ward and Kyle Edmund battling it out for the right to join Murray on singles duty on Friday and Sunday. Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot, both of whom reached the last four at the US Open, could team up in the doubles on the assumption that three matches in three days is too extreme for the world No 3.

It all means no place for Fleming, although he has been invited along by Smith during the practice week to hit with the doubles players and lend a hand. One thing that might be worth picking his brains about is the fact that he and his partner, Treat Huey, overcame what is likely to be Australia’s strongest pairing, Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth, at the US Open. With no Nick Kyrgios around, the other members of Wally Masur’s squad for the tie are Thanasi Kokkinakis and Bernard Tomic.

“It remains to be seen who Australia will play,” said Fleming, who flies out to St Petersburg on Saturday for his next tournament, with new partner Jonathan Erlich. “I don’t think they have a set long-term doubles team. Over the past few years, it was Hewitt and Chris Guccione, so I guess Hewitt and Groth would be front runners now and it was nice to get a win over them.

“Certainly, from the British doubles point of view right now, it is really strong. I have no complaints when it comes to Dom and Jamie. They are playing really great, no more so than in the US Open.

“Obviously, against France, Andy came in instead of Dom, so that is a fairly strong option too. Maybe Leon might just think with Jamie and Dom both playing so well that he can’t leave them out.”