A Team Djokovic insider has revealed the workings of the Serb’s strict no-compromise lifestyle, with every move programmed to increase performance.
The robo regime has paid off so far with 21 Grand Slam titles, but is strikingly unbending according to physical trainer Ulises Badio who spilled the tea to a Russian website.
Argentine Badio has been with the team since 2017, when Djokovic invited his fellow holistic lifestyle follower to come aboard before Roland Garros.
Badio is not just an integral cog in the machinery, he is a virtual ghost around Djokovic, trailing the Serb everywhere to monitor his lifestyle choices and keep him on the path to gluten-free total victory
“I follow him at all times, even when he is sitting to see how he stands, or how much water he has drunk, or if he has talked to someone on the phone for a long time,” the trainer said.
“Every little detail matters – it can affect him in the match.”
Badio takes the job more than a bit seriously. “The responsibility that there is on a tennis player like Novak is 200 per cent.
“When you treat an athlete like that, at such a high level, you can always be close to injuring him. You must know in detail both his anatomy and your profession.
“For me it was very important to have a huge experience in my field of work and, in this case, to be a little more open to a more alternative and holistic philosophy .
“We work with him 24 hours a day. I can’t just spend four hours with him, in his training , and see him before the match.”
While his daily life is constantly under the microscope, Djokovic also has other challenges to confront:
He is due to miss the US Open due to his lack of a COVID vaccine and his total opposition to ever submitting to a job which the other 99 per cent of his ATP colleagues have already done.
Main photo:- Novak Djokovic kisses the 2022 Wimbledon trophy, his 21st Grand Slam Title – by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
