Liam Broady's precarious life on the tennis road -- which includes sleeping on friends' sofas and regularly playing in front of "two or three people" -- will take a significant turn next week when he faces Andy Murray in an all-British first round tie at Wimbledon.
Wild card Broady, a 22-year-old ranked No. 234 in the world, encounters the former Wimbledon champion and No.2 seed before a live crowd of 15,000 spectators inside Centre Court, as well as a global television audience of tens of millions.
The two Brits are playing the same sport but living in very different worlds. While Murray has career earnings of $46.7 million, Broady has won a mere $188,110 over the course of his tennis life, including $17,136 so far this season. That is before sponsorship -- substantial in Murray's case, minimal in Broady's -- is even considered. Murray owns several properties, including a home in Surrey and an apartment in Miami; Broady relies upon the kindness and hospitality of his friends, often relying on them to lend him a sofa to sleep on.
Even a defeat by Murray next week will bring Broady a welcome £30,000 -- the sum awarded to first-round losers.
"There have been financial struggles -- that's what life is like for most tennis players," Broady told ESPN. "It's a tough sport to finance. It's very expensive, especially if you want to do it in the right way and employ your own coach.
"Just recently, I stayed on a friend's sofa for a week. It's just cutting corners and saving costs whenever you can. And when I stay in hotel rooms, I share them."
"It's not been easy, but obviously the wild card from Wimbledon helps. I've played in front or two or three people. That happens a lot. You play at a Futures tournament [the third tier of men's tennis] and you've got your coach watching, and your opponent's coach, and that's it.
"I find it tough playing in front of small crowds. I'm looking forward to the experience of playing in front of a big crowd."
Just recently, Broady had been saying to his coach that he would rather play anyone but Murray, whom he considers a friend. "It's the second toughest draw in the tournament, isn't it? It's funny. I was saying to my coach a few weeks ago, 'anyone but Andy'. But it's a brilliant opportunity. I know Andy very well. I'm looking forward to the experience."
Until the Wimbledon draw was made on Friday morning, Broady had never thought of Murray as an opponent. Now he has until Tuesday to devise a strategy. "We get on pretty well. So it's interesting to see what it will be like. But once we cross that line and step on to the court, friendship will go out of the window. If I see him before then, I'll say hello and ask him what he thinks about his draw," Broady chuckled.
"Over the last few years, I've practised with Andy quite a bit. I've watched him play a lot live. I've seen him a lot on TV. I'll have a think over the next few days about the toughest part of his game. It's funny, I've never thought of him as an opponent before so I've never really had that problem before. But I'll discuss that with my coach and we'll formulate a game plan before we go on court."
This will be the grandest stage of Broady's career. He finished runner-up in the boys' singles at Wimbledon in 2011, and defeated Australian veteran Marinko Matosevic in the first round of the men's singles last year, before losing to Belgium's David Goffin in his next match.
"The biggest crowd I've ever played in front of was the final of the junior tournament here," added Broady. "That was on No.1 Court and it was pretty full, that was a pretty big crowd. I like playing in front of big crowds. I've never played on Centre Court before. I'm looking forward to it."