Players change and do a lot with their training and diets in an effort to find their peaks and certainly one of the most talked about diets in tennis over the last couple of years is the gluten free diet that Novak Djokovic told us all about.
Some players picked up on the idea and a lot of the time players will follow leads in the hope that it will help give them an edge.
Novak even has a book to highlight the benefits of such a diet saying it changed his life in a positive way and affected his career positively. He said: “I particularly wanted to share this kind of food regime and this kind of change that affected my life. I’m not trying to influence somebody’s life and tell them how they should eat or live or maybe treat their food.”
After his first round at the US Open, Roger Federer jokingly bucked the trend and said: “Oh no, I have extra gluten. No, no I don’t (but) I’ve always paid attention to what I eat. I’ve always been a healthy eater. Clearly you can take it to the next step, when to eat, exactly what, before the match, during the match, after the match, what to eat exactly if you’re not sure.
“I grew up sort of as a vegetarian when I was younger. I’m happy I can eat a bit of everything today which makes it easier overall. I’ve seen some nutritionists from time to time, but nothing crazy or major really.”
Now, that’s all well and good but as we have discovered Novak has put his poodle Pierre on a gluten free diet as well. His neighbour, Novak’s not the dog, in Monte Carlo is Caroline Wozniacki and she and her boyfriend Rory McIlroy have just got a dog which is a Pomeranian named Bruno – bit of a butch name for that type of a dog. That’s like calling an over-sized rat (you know the type of dog I mean) “Bruiser”.
Caroline has made it clear that there will be no such diets for her dog.
“My dog is only having one life and I want him to enjoy it,” she said. “Whether that means he's going to become a little bit chubby, then that be it. I'd rather have him a little bit chubby and be happy than too skinny and miserable.
“He's a little fluff ball and I love him. He's the best. He's always happy. No matter if you've had a bad day or great day, he doesn't care. He runs up to you and wants to lick your face, and it's like he's funny, and he travels quite a bit, whenever I can take him. I haven't had him for too long, but, yeah, I will bring him whenever I can. It's great to have him around.
“Novak came up to me and said, Jelena and I got a new dog, another one. They just bought one three days ago. Maybe we'll have some play dates. It's like our little kids, you know.”
Novak responded: “It is acceptable to have a play date. It is not acceptable that they dine together because they have different food regimes. Pierre is following his daddy's diet, for sure. That's why he's so fit.”
What was that about “not trying to influence somebody’s life”?
Hey Novak I’m on a sea-food diet … I see food and I eat it.
