Jonathan Marray considered quitting tennis when a shoulder injury forced him to focus on doubles and dredge the minor tournaments for a wage.
Today he will play in a Wimbledon semi-final, the first British player to feature in the final four of the men's doubles since Mark Cox in 1977.
Marray and Freddie Nielsen beat James Cerretani and Roger Edouard-Vasselin on Wednesday, booking a men's last-four clash with the legendary Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, in the process. The Americans have been the world's top-ranked pair for 297 weeks.
"I played a lot of singles early on in my career, but I had a shoulder injury and struggled to get my form back, so I concentrated on doubles," said Marray.
"But when you are not making much money it is difficult to justify it. You ask yourself why you are doing it. But then you get the chance to play in tournaments like this, and that keeps you going.
"The prize money as a doubles player isn't the same and you have to split it.There are 30 tournaments a year. It can be a hard slog. I've been to Asia, Africa, Uzbekistan, Australia, staying in basic hotels. But we all love playing tennis and that's why we do it.
"We have had a good run so far, but we are only in the semi-finals. We have to stay focused and hopefully we can win on Friday and play for the title.
"They [the Bryans] are the best in the world and have been for some time," added the 31-year-old.
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