Murray’s three-hour ordeal after his matches
Ice baths, 50 pieces of sushi and a gruelling session with ‘The Back Whisperer’
ONE might imagine that once a tennis player leaves the court, they hop into the shower and head home for a substantial dinner and a welldeserved rest.
But British champion Andy Murray revealed at Wimbledon on Tuesday night that it takes him at least two hours to complete his postmatch routine — meaning that he did not see his infant daughter Sophia, four months old, after playing.
‘I won’t get to see her now,’ he said. ‘She’ll be in bed when I get back.’
So what on earth takes him so long? From agonising ice baths to tactical sushi-scoffing, here ALISON BOSHOFF tells the extraordinary story of Andy Murray’s NoHurry routine . . .
WASH AND GO — 15 MINUTES
FIRST things first, and of course for Murray and everyone else at Wimbledon that means a shower.
The locker rooms were revamped in 2015, doubling in size — meaning that they can now easily accommodate the players and their entourages.
If you are seeded then you get your own room, and as the tournament progresses you may get the use of up to four rooms for yourself and your entourage.
The seeds get asked each year if they want to stay in the same place, with the same locker room.
ON YOUR BIKE — 10 MINUTES
YES he’s just been running around on court — but a session on an exercise bike is next as a gentle warmdown. This is on the orders of Matt Little, a fitness instructor and longterm member of team Murray.
Little, an old friend of Murray’s, is also the lead strength and conditioning coach at the Lawn Tennis Association and is credited with helping the player to work on his movement and speed.
NATURAL PRAWN CHAMPION — 20 MINUTES
HIS regime requires him to eat within 30 minutes of finishing matches or training sessions. This is to make sure that his body doesn’t start ‘eating’ into his muscles as it recovers from the exertions.
Sushi is Murray’s postmatch meal of choice, and he has been known to eat up to 50 portions of raw fish a day as part of his carefully devised 6,000 calorieaday diet.
He’s not alone in his passion for sushi. Serena Williams is another fan of the meal that is probably the most popular option at the player’s restaurant in Wimbledon.
However, it’s thought that Murray brings his own stash along to Wimbledon — although he sometimes favours takeaway sushi from upmarket health food store Whole Foods in Kensington.
He was famously seen working his way through four boxes of take away sushi while watching a Davis Cup match last year.
The combination of carbohydrates in the rice and protein in the fish are good for replenishing weary muscles.
Tennis coach Nino Severino said: ‘ There’s something called a glycaemic window after exercise. The body needs the carbohydrates and protein to replenish the muscles and the liver with glycogen. The rice helps that process.’
He added: ‘ Andy is such a physical player that every time he slams down his foot he is basically ripping his body to shreds.
‘He then needs to replenish the lost protein because that’s a big element of rebuilding.’
OSMOLARITY CHECK — 5 MINUTES
IT IS essential to stay hydrated after exercise, so Murray’s intake of water postmatch will be closely monitored.
Teetotal Murray has an ‘osmolarity check’ every time he pops to the loo. Staff gauge the levels of water and minerals in his urine to check that he is properly hydrated.
They will do this before and after he takes on Australian John Millman at Wimbledon tomorrow.
DEEP MASSAGE — 45 MINUTES
PHYSIOTHERAPIST Shane Annun, whom Murray calls an ‘unbelievably nice guy’, warms him up before the match, and warms him down again afterwards.
Mark Bender, another physiotherapist who is known as ‘the back whisperer’, is also on the team.
All players at a certain level will have a massage as a matter of course after a match. It aims to normalise the tissues, easing any knotted muscles or areas of stress, and relax the player.
DEEP-FREEZE DIP — 8 MINUTES
AN ICE bath after playing is such a popular option for tennis players that the All england Club added six new ice bath machines to the locker rooms last year.
Murray said: ‘My ice bath is in the corner of the room and it’s always chilled to the right temperature — about eight degrees.
‘you walk up steps so you can lower yourself down into it, and I do eight minutes straight.
‘The water is moving inside the ice bath because otherwise your body starts to heat it up, and it’s a lot tougher when the water is moving around. I might be used to it after all this time but it’s still not nice, believe me.’
Why do they all do it? The cold helps reduce painful lactic acid buildup in the legs by forcing blood vessels to constrict. This allows oxygenated blood to heal damaged muscles and tendons. Fitness coach Matt Little says: ‘Ten minutes in the ice bath is a fantastic way to flush out stiffness-causing acid and toxins from the muscles.’
A filmmaker who followed Murray for a year said coaches gave him sweets to lure him into the ice bath. Murray recently bought a £15,000 ice bath to use at his home.
... FOLLOWED BY A HOT TUB — 5 MINUTES
MURRAY warms up again afterwards, with a short warm bath.
MEET THE PRESS — ONE HOUR
A TOP player such as Murray would be expected to do a 1015 minute press conference after each game and between five to 10 oneonone interviews with BBC TV, radio and other broadcasters.
MORE BALLS PLEASE — 30 MINS, OPTIONAL
IF HIS match didn’t last long Murray sometimes goes back onto the practice court to hit a few more balls and perhaps work on anything which his coach Ivan Lendl —himself a Wimbledon great — feels needs attention. Also an opportunity for a postmatch debrief and an analysis of where he went right and wrong.
Murray is well known for obsessing about tactics and styles.
In addition to watching matches in the locker room on his computer, he will often continue his analysis when he gets home — analysing opponents’ weaknesses and well as his own.
THE LONG RIDE HOME — 25 MINUTES
IT’S just a quick hop down the A3 to Murray’s huge neoclassical pillared home in oxshott, Surrey. The £5 million pile has a cinema and gym but no tennis court. As well as wife Kim and daughter Sophia, border terriers Maggie May and rusty are in residence. His mum Judy also lives with them during the Wimbledon tournament. TOTAL: 3 hours 43 minutes
GETTING IN THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND
sports psychologist Alexis Castorri, who helped him achieve his breakthrough at the u.S. open and then Wimbledon — his postmatch routine is completely tailored to his physical needs.
And while Murray’s winddown routines are par for the course at the top level, tennis players are notorious for clinging to superstitious rituals. Serena Williams always ties her shoelaces in a certain way, and rafa Nadal makes sure that he drinks strictly from alternate water bottles — never the same one twice in a row.
French player richard Gasquet takes the gateau, though — he plays a ‘lucky ball’ system, and if he has won a point using one ball he insists on playing with the same ball again, until he loses with it.
PS: THE LAP OF LUXURY FOR BABY MURRAY
WHILE she may be missing Daddy, there’s no question of hardship for baby Murray. The creche at Wimbledon was upgraded in 2015 and is in Aorangi Park. There are four qualified nursery nurses on duty as well as a large selection of toys, games, nappies and milk.
There is also an outside garden area which comes complete with mini racquets and squashy balls.
Children under the age of five are not allowed inside the stands at the Championships lest they interrupt the players’ concentration.