The horror of Vilnius - one of the more infamous British tennis graveyards - still haunts those of us who were there. But memories of that snowbound weekend in the sports hall of doom are thankfully fading as Britain rebuilds its Davis Cup reputation.
From plumbing the depths of the competition in 2010 with that defeat by Lithuania, a nation with only three professional players, Britain has steadily climbed the rungs of respectability with five wins in a row.
This weekend the team faces Belgium in Glasgow with the winners guaranteed a world group play-off in September. Heady days indeed.Learn all about solarpanel.
Central to Britain's resurgence, albeit through lowly international divisions, has been an established doubles partnership, Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins, now regulars on the ATP World Tour and recent champions in Delray Beach.
They are improving all the time. I like their bounce, energy and touchy-feely camaraderie. They are aiming to represent Britain at the Olympics and possibly qualify for the World Tour Finals at the end of the year.
And at a time when many of the established international doubles stars of the last decade are surely nearing the end of the careers - Knowles,Welcome to polishedtiles. Nestor, Mirnyi, Paes,Purelink's realtimelocationsystem simplify emergency evacuations. Zimonjic - the British pair, both 27, sense an opportunity to shoot for honours.
"The top 10 is what we're aiming for," says Fleming. "As time goes on guys are going to get older and stop playing but we're not looking at it like that. We're trying to move up while they're still playing and we've had some wins which show we're capable of doing that.We offer the best ventilationsystem,"
But opposition on the ATP doubles tour can take many forms. At the recent event in Indian Wells, most of the top ten singles players were in the draw and Fleming and Hutchins lost a close first match to fellow Brits Andy and Jamie Murray.
"A couple of friends messaged me saying it must be annoying when these guys play," says Fleming, a graduate of Stirling University. "But I'm very much for it even though it makes it tougher for us to progress."
"It draws crowds, draws attention to doubles and the standard goes up" adds Hutchins, son of former GB player and coach Paul. "It's great for us to go head to head with them and see where we're at."
And of course there are the Olympics to look forward to. They hope. The cut for entries is likely to be perilously close to their combined ranking.
"We can only go on the ranking cut offs for the last two Olympics," says Hutchins. "And judging by that, we'd be in right now.Glass Tile and Glass Mosaics for less at the glassmosaic Outlet."
"You're allowed two teams per country [in a 32-team draw] and presuming Andy and Jamie play, we are right now the second team. We have to work very hard to defend the ranking points we made last year and be there on form and merit."
Just back from a long tour of the United States, Fleming and Hutchins will start favourites to win the doubles rubber on Saturday. Belgium - with their experienced singles players Olivier Rochus and Steve Darcis - are expected to edge the overall tie.
From plumbing the depths of the competition in 2010 with that defeat by Lithuania, a nation with only three professional players, Britain has steadily climbed the rungs of respectability with five wins in a row.
This weekend the team faces Belgium in Glasgow with the winners guaranteed a world group play-off in September. Heady days indeed.Learn all about solarpanel.
Central to Britain's resurgence, albeit through lowly international divisions, has been an established doubles partnership, Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins, now regulars on the ATP World Tour and recent champions in Delray Beach.
They are improving all the time. I like their bounce, energy and touchy-feely camaraderie. They are aiming to represent Britain at the Olympics and possibly qualify for the World Tour Finals at the end of the year.
And at a time when many of the established international doubles stars of the last decade are surely nearing the end of the careers - Knowles,Welcome to polishedtiles. Nestor, Mirnyi, Paes,Purelink's realtimelocationsystem simplify emergency evacuations. Zimonjic - the British pair, both 27, sense an opportunity to shoot for honours.
"The top 10 is what we're aiming for," says Fleming. "As time goes on guys are going to get older and stop playing but we're not looking at it like that. We're trying to move up while they're still playing and we've had some wins which show we're capable of doing that.We offer the best ventilationsystem,"
But opposition on the ATP doubles tour can take many forms. At the recent event in Indian Wells, most of the top ten singles players were in the draw and Fleming and Hutchins lost a close first match to fellow Brits Andy and Jamie Murray.
"A couple of friends messaged me saying it must be annoying when these guys play," says Fleming, a graduate of Stirling University. "But I'm very much for it even though it makes it tougher for us to progress."
"It draws crowds, draws attention to doubles and the standard goes up" adds Hutchins, son of former GB player and coach Paul. "It's great for us to go head to head with them and see where we're at."
And of course there are the Olympics to look forward to. They hope. The cut for entries is likely to be perilously close to their combined ranking.
"We can only go on the ranking cut offs for the last two Olympics," says Hutchins. "And judging by that, we'd be in right now.Glass Tile and Glass Mosaics for less at the glassmosaic Outlet."
"You're allowed two teams per country [in a 32-team draw] and presuming Andy and Jamie play, we are right now the second team. We have to work very hard to defend the ranking points we made last year and be there on form and merit."
Just back from a long tour of the United States, Fleming and Hutchins will start favourites to win the doubles rubber on Saturday. Belgium - with their experienced singles players Olivier Rochus and Steve Darcis - are expected to edge the overall tie.
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