Jerzy Janowicz was once so poor that New Yorkers coughed up to buy him tennis shoes at the US Open before his parents sold their sports shop to keep him on the road.

Two years ago, when he was ranked at a lowly 221 in the world, the giant Pole didn't have the cash to buy an air ticket to the Australian Open and in his junior days, he even was offered fantastic riches to dump Poland and play for Qatar.

No wonder the 22-year-old native of Lodz collapsed in tears after beating compatriot Lukasz Kubot to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon on Wednesday.