WINNETKA, Ill. (STATS) - Think back to the first Monday at Wimbledon. On Centre Court, the opening match is reserved for the defending champion. Rafael Nadal is introduced to warm applause.
Few notice his opponent that day, Michael Russell.
The veteran American seizes an early 4-2 lead before falling in straight sets. The venerable Dick Enberg notes during the telecast that Russell has less career earnings than the estimated $1.7 million Nadal pocketed by winning this year's French Open alone.
Fast forward one week later. Nadal is still in England, en route to another Wimbledon final.
Russell, on the other hand, is in suburban Chicago, practicing with fellow pro Jesse Witten on what shapes up to be three-quarters of a regulation court. The two just completed a session on a full court and were shuttled to another area, where makeshift bleacher seats take up a decent chunk of the playing surface.
If there's any irony to be found in going from arguably the world's most famous court to not even a full one, it may have been lost on the workmanlike Russell, currently ranked 95th in the world. He was preparing for an entirely different kind of tournament on the ATP Challenger Tour, where players ranked around 100 toil in an attempt to make it onto the main circuit.
As if going pro wasn't hard enough competition-wise, the daily logistics are almost as difficult to adapt to - particularly for players on the fringe of the ATP's top level, who don't have the money for handlers and assistants.
"When you play in college, everything is there for you and then all of a sudden, when you turn pro and you're out in the real world, you're traveling by yourself," Russell said. "It's up to you to book your own practice courts, which is not difficult, but sometimes it's kind of a culture shock for some people because they're not used to doing that.
"Some people can't deal with that, the mental grind and physical grind of the tour."
Former world No. 4 James Blake has a unique perspective. He was forced to drop down to the Challenger level in order to gain points to get into the bigger tournaments after seeing his ranking fall out of the top 100. He has used Challenger victories in Florida and Illinois to help restore his ranking to No. 63.
"It's a tough sport," Blake said. "It's not like a lot of the other sports where you get a guaranteed contract early on and you're just sort of coasting. You've got to work to earn your keep out here every week. If you don't do well, you're going home early."
A player like Russell is forced to maximize his rankings points by squeezing in as many events as he can - whether on the main tour or at Challengers. It's a hidden level of professional tennis, a sport where the riches are distributed mainly to the players at the top.
A recent issue of The Economist reported that the 125th-ranked player on the PGA Tour made close to $1 million in 2010. Russell has been ranked as high as No. 60 in the world, but has earned less than $1.5 million over 14 years as a pro.
"I've played through three decades now, I started in '98," said Russell. "The game has obviously changed a lot. Obviously you still make a good living being in the top 100, but compared to other sports it's not even close."
Russell needed to maintain his ranking through the Newport event in July to ensure a spot in the main draw for next week's U.S. Open. He fell one spot shy of qualifying at No. 102, but gained entry anyway due to withdrawals and will face off against Andy Roddick in an opening-round match.
Players like Russell don't see five-star hotels since they must budget their earnings wisely, and much of his injury treatment is done by his wife, Liliana. She also helps with his travel arrangements, although she claims that her husband has got that part of his preparation down to a science.
"The more money you can make in the tournaments, then you can afford to have a bigger team with you," Russell said. "A physio, or a coach, some of the top guys, they even have their own chefs. I have my own chef and physio, all wrapped into one."
The way the ATP Tour caters to the elite is evident in the nine annual Masters Series events that require top players to attend. Those tournaments feature 56-player fields that are actually tougher to get into than a Grand Slam - last week's Cincinnati event forced recent tournament champions Radek Stepanek and Ernests Gulbis to qualify.
That leaves even less room for players at Russell's level to even attempt to get in.
"The Masters Series are really the elite tournaments to get into because they're so difficult," Blake said. "The Slams I think are great for the sport because you've got 128 guys, you can see some guys that you don't normally see."
And it's the allure of the Slams that motivates players at the Challenger level - most of whom have made cameos in tennis' showcase events.
Witten, ranked as high as No. 163, became a major story when he reached the third round of the 2009 U.S. Open before losing in four sets to Novak Djokovic. After the match, Djokovic noted that the rankings "can never really show the right picture, because some of these guys can play top-10 tennis."
"The Slams are exciting," Witten said. "It's a big stage, big courts, big crowd. Yeah, there's more at stake but that's what you play for, you play to have that chance. You never know what can happen."
The Grand Slams showcase the depth of the field, thanks to major upsets. This year alone, 2010 Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych was beaten in the first round of the French Open by qualifier Stephane Robert while two-time French Open finalist Robin Soderling was knocked out of Wimbledon by young Australian qualifier Bernard Tomic.
The key is getting that chance. A player gains roughly 80 rankings points and around $7,200 for winning a Challenger tournament - prize money that is less than what's awarded for winning two matches in a regular ATP 250-level event.
"You see that there is a lot of talent there," Blake said. "It just takes that one big breakthrough for them to get the confidence to be at that higher level."
Russell may be the best proof that these lower-ranked pros are hardly journeymen. He held match point on world No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten in the fourth round of the 2001 French Open - Kuerten won in five sets and only dropped three sets over his other six matches in winning the tournament.
Russell was also competitive against Nadal at Wimbledon, becoming a YouTube sensation by winning one point with a diving volley.
"Obviously, Kuerten was the best clay-courter arguably ever at that time before Rafa came around. I gave him a run for his money," Russell said. "And then obviously playing Rafa, (he) has won two Wimbledons now, so I can measure my game against his."
It's those Grand Slam dreams that have players coming back over and over to Challenger events.
"You can have one, two good tournaments and all of a sudden, you're right back up there, you're basically in the main draws of big ones," Witten said. "You're a couple matches away from being there all the time when you're at this level with all these guys."