Tennis Journeyman Michael Russell's Long Career Outside the Elite

A puddle of sweat forms on the hotel carpet when Michael Russell pulls off his tennis shoes. He’s just finished a practice session in Atlanta’s midday heat and is rummaging through his suitcase looking for a bottle of electrolyte pills. Russell’s in town for the BB&T Atlanta Open, a lower-tier event on the ATP World Tour. It’s his third stop since losing in the first round at Wimbledon in June. Russell, 35, has been chasing prize money and rankings points around the globe since he was 20. Barring injury, he’ll be at the US Open in New York on Aug. 26, playing under the same lights as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray. Barring a miracle, he will lose long before the final.

“I still really enjoy it,” Russell says of living out of a suitcase and taking the court against younger players week after week. “It has that gladiator aspect where you can’t really blame anybody but yourself.” He stretches as he talks, his foot propped on a towel on the back of the couch. “I figure as long as I’m healthy, and I’m still ranked in the top 100, I might as well keep playing.”