Tennis Superstar Novak Djokovic Discusses His Daily Diet For The Very First Time In Brand New Book

Professional tennis is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world, and anyone who makes it to the top has to be in their absolute physical prime. Over the past few years, Novak Djokovic has climbed from a distant #3 in world tennis rankings to a definitive #1. And in a brand new book set for release next month entitled Serve To Win, Djokovic reveals for the very first time exactly what food he puts into his body to stay in superior shape — and also what food he doesn’t.

Tom Perrotta of The Wall Street Journal recently sat down with Djokovic to discuss his diet and the new book, and Perrotta writes: “Want to roll like the world’s top men’s tennis player? Start by drinking loads of warm water all day long, as well as shakes made with pea protein concentrate. Avoid dairy and stay away from alcohol during tournaments. Eat lots of avocados, cashew butter and very little sugar. Banish caffeine, other than the occasional energy gel bar before matches. Be sure to get seven to eight hours of sleep a night, meditate, do plenty of yoga and tai chi, take melatonin supplements, hook yourself up to a biofeedback machine that measures your stress level and, when you have a free moment or two, keep a diary. Feel free to unwind with a cup of warm licorice tea. In the book, Djokovic reveals one of his heretofore unknown obsessions: manuka honey from New Zealand. This expensive and tasty variety of honey comes from bees that feed on New Zealand’s manuka trees — a dense-branched genus of shrub that can thrive in soil so depleted of nutrients that little else grows in it. ‘The first thing I do out of bed is to drink a tall glass of room-temperature water,’ Djokovic says. ‘[And I eat] two spoonfuls of honey. Every day.’ He says he also eats it during matches.”

You can read the full story (which includes a story of Djokovic’s mysterious encounter with a wise researcher and two glasses of positive and negative water) by visiting TheWallStreetJournal.com. To pick up your own copy of Novak Djokovic’s Serve to Win: The 14-Day Gluten-Free Plan for Physical and Mental Excellence simply head over to Amazon.