Andy Murray and James Ward, Britain''s top two men''s tennis players, may have moved up a place in the ATP rankings, but they remain worlds apart.
For Murray, it meant taking the number two spot last week from Rafael Nadal to edge menacingly closer to 15-time Grand Slam title winner Roger Federer.
For British number two Ward, however, the achievement was more modest, a move from 205 to 204 and onto the shoulder of the equally unheralded Peter Polansky of Canada, out there in the twilight zone of the professional game.
"I''m doing my own thing. I''m working hard. I''m not saying I''m suddenly going to be top ten next year, but that is the plan in the future," said Ward, the son of a London taxi driver.
Like Murray, Ward is 22 and, like the Scotsman, stands at 1.90m (6ft 3in).
But that''s where the similarities end.
Murray''s victory at the recent Montreal Masters took his career earnings to 8.5 million dollars.
During that same week, Ward was crumbling to a first round defeat at a second-tier Challenger event in Brazil, picking up a cheque for a paltry 365 dollars for his efforts.
Murray, one of the favourites for the US Open next week, started 2009 with a title win in Qatar, beating Federer and Andy Roddick on the way.
At the same time, Ward was kicking off his season with a first round defeat in qualifying in the Pacific outpost of New Caledonia.
A wildcard into Wimbledon, which ended in a first round loss to Spanish top 10 player Fernando Verdasco, at least eased the financial burden of playing in tournaments where players stay at the cheapest hotels and hop on a bus to reach the courts.
The 10,000 dollars received for that first round defeat at the All England Club represents 10 percent of Ward''s income.
But despite the unrelenting grind of playing on such an anonymous tour, Ward remains optimistic of making his way into the big time.
"I''m working hard and going about it my own way. It''s difficult to suddenly go from 200 to 50 in the world within one week, unless you win Wimbledon. But if you''re moving up steadily, I don''t see what the big problem is," insisted Ward after his loss to Verdasco.
His effort can''t be faulted.
In February this year, he took part in a play-off against compatriot Chris Eaton to earn a place in the British Davis Cup team.
Ward lost 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 2-6, 21-19 in a match that lasted six hours, 40 minutes.
"The problem is that everyone just focuses on Wimbledon. People forget you play another 50 weeks of the year," explained Ward.
"If you don''t do well at Wimbledon, suddenly you''re rubbish, and that''s not the case. Everybody is in the same boat. It''s a lot of pressure, but Andy deals with it better than other people."
For Murray, it meant taking the number two spot last week from Rafael Nadal to edge menacingly closer to 15-time Grand Slam title winner Roger Federer.
For British number two Ward, however, the achievement was more modest, a move from 205 to 204 and onto the shoulder of the equally unheralded Peter Polansky of Canada, out there in the twilight zone of the professional game.
"I''m doing my own thing. I''m working hard. I''m not saying I''m suddenly going to be top ten next year, but that is the plan in the future," said Ward, the son of a London taxi driver.
Like Murray, Ward is 22 and, like the Scotsman, stands at 1.90m (6ft 3in).
But that''s where the similarities end.
Murray''s victory at the recent Montreal Masters took his career earnings to 8.5 million dollars.
During that same week, Ward was crumbling to a first round defeat at a second-tier Challenger event in Brazil, picking up a cheque for a paltry 365 dollars for his efforts.
Murray, one of the favourites for the US Open next week, started 2009 with a title win in Qatar, beating Federer and Andy Roddick on the way.
At the same time, Ward was kicking off his season with a first round defeat in qualifying in the Pacific outpost of New Caledonia.
A wildcard into Wimbledon, which ended in a first round loss to Spanish top 10 player Fernando Verdasco, at least eased the financial burden of playing in tournaments where players stay at the cheapest hotels and hop on a bus to reach the courts.
The 10,000 dollars received for that first round defeat at the All England Club represents 10 percent of Ward''s income.
But despite the unrelenting grind of playing on such an anonymous tour, Ward remains optimistic of making his way into the big time.
"I''m working hard and going about it my own way. It''s difficult to suddenly go from 200 to 50 in the world within one week, unless you win Wimbledon. But if you''re moving up steadily, I don''t see what the big problem is," insisted Ward after his loss to Verdasco.
His effort can''t be faulted.
In February this year, he took part in a play-off against compatriot Chris Eaton to earn a place in the British Davis Cup team.
Ward lost 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 2-6, 21-19 in a match that lasted six hours, 40 minutes.
"The problem is that everyone just focuses on Wimbledon. People forget you play another 50 weeks of the year," explained Ward.
"If you don''t do well at Wimbledon, suddenly you''re rubbish, and that''s not the case. Everybody is in the same boat. It''s a lot of pressure, but Andy deals with it better than other people."