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It is not only Novak Djokovic's talent that sets him apart from other players. His strict gluten-free diet has played a major part in his success. It certainly is the diet of a dedicated athlete and would be very hard to follow for us mere mortals.
Changing his diet was unquestionably the turning point of his career. It helped Djokovic go from regular mid-match collapses to a Grand Slam winning streak. In 2010, Djokovic saw a defer against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the 2010 Australian Open quarter-final.
He took a lead of two sets to one but then suffered a physical crisis and lost the match. The Serbian was at a low career point and was struggling with his health. However, Dr. Igor Cetojevic saw him playing in the 2010 Australian Open.
Subsequently, Dr. Igor suggested some changes to Djokovic. He then adjusted his intakes by removing gluten, sugar, and dairy and kept a strict and clean diet.
“I start with warm water” – Novak Djokovic
In an interview with Graham Bensinger Djokovic admitted diet was one of the most integral parts of the problem.
The 33-year-old also shared his average plant-based diet. “Changing the diet was something that allowed me to get rid of the allergies and everything particularly gluten, dairy, and refined sugar that I removed from my diet,” said Djokovic.
“I start with warm water and lemon so I can help my body detoxify and then I would have celery juice on an empty stomach and then I would take a break-in,” he said revealing about his diet. He further added: “And I would have my green smoothie, with different algae, different fruits, superfoods and great supplements that I use that allow me to have mental clarity, feeling good, longevity and different benefits on health”.
He explained that he eats a lot of fruits for the first part of the day, salads. Djokovic prefers not to eat any food that would require much energy for digestion especially in the first part of the day because that’s when he needs the most energy for his training.
“So I am keeping things quite light. I would have probably like so the grains like quinoa and millet and wild rice, sweet potato, normal potato-like steamed or boiled,” he concluded. To follow Djokovic’s diet is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea.
However, one can surely take inspiration from Djokovic’s work ethic and discipline in his eating habits.
