Andy Murray has recently spoken about his recent change of diet and the hope that it will help make that final leap to win a Grand slam.
“After ten hours’ sleep I still used to be tired in the mornings, now I’m sleeping eight and I feel totally fresh when I wake up.
“My recoveries from matches have been terrific as well. I’m not feeling bloated and my body is not as intolerant as it used to be. It’s making all the difference.”
“It is about a balance and with that you become leaner and reach a stable weight. I used to drop weight every day but it’s steady right now and, because of that, it’s more effective.”
There will undoubtedly be comparisons immediately drawn between Murray changing his diet this year and Novak Djokovic’s now legendary gluten-free diet which was implimented following his health problems midway through 2010, but the difference is that Djokovic only devulged the gluten-free secret after he was successful with it. If Murrays form slackens in any way between now and the end of the year, this will simply give his countless critics even more ammunition to criticize him again and again.
Moreover, over the last three years, Murray has slimmed down, bulked up and slimmed down again. Diet is undoubtedly very important in professional tennis in the 21st century, but the reason he hasn’t taken the final leap and captured that elusive slam title has nothing to do with his (brilliant) fitness, and more to do with his game and particularly his attitude and mental strength (or lack thereof) compared to his biggest rivals. Eating a couple more leafy vegetables per day isn’t really going to change that fact.
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
The timing of devulging their respective diets is not the only difference between Djokovic and Murray.
The more important difference is the reason for dieting. One of the two wanted to get rid of allergies (breathing problems due to gluten intollerance).
The other just wanted to regulate weight (too much fluctuations) and eat healthier (no more junk food). That’s a bit late in the professional career to do, but better late than never (see: Mardy Fish).