Novak Djokovic turns 33: World No.1's transformation into being vegan, yogic & meditative

World No.1 Novak Djokovic celebrated his birthday on Friday, May 22, 2020. The 33-year-old is one of the greatest tennis players of his generation and has won 17 Grand Slam titles, the third most for a male singles player in history. Novak Djokovic is regarded as a highly aggressive baseline player and is regarded as one of the greatest movers on the tennis court with high agility, court coverage and defensive ability, allowing him to hit winners from seemingly defensive positions. The World No.1's fitness can be attributed to the Novak Djokovic vegan diet and his yoga and meditation. 

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Novak Djokovic birthday: Novak Djokovic vegan diet and other health practices 

Novak Djokovic struggled with a series of injuries after his famous win in the 2016 French Open. Djokovic returned to the court but was generally exhausted and once vomited violently during a toilet break from physical exhaustion during the Australian Open. However, the World No.1 turned his bad patch around and reigned back to supremacy winning the 2018 Wimbledon, beating Roger Federer in the final that lasted for more than five hours. The Serbian ace put behind his exhaustion and won a physical battle thanks to the Novak Djokovic vegan diet.

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The five-time Wimbledon champion revealed after his Australian Open 2020 third-round win against Yoshihito Nishioka that he first adopted a plant-based diet in 2016 and is glad to reap its benefits and hopes to inspire other athletes to adopt the diet. As a result, he even co-produced the popular Netflix documentary called The GameChangers, which covers famous plant-based athletes like him and their story to get there. Djokovic committed to the same 5 years after opting to consume gluten-free products, while having dabbled with non-vegetarian food occasionally. It also meant no sugar or inappropriate proteins or carbohydrates.

In his book Serve To Win, Djokovic had committed to eating healthy, which made it easier for him to become plant-based and this is a glimpse of his daily menu prior to 2016 -

Day 1 

Breakfast: Water first thing out of bed; two tablespoons of honey; muesli (including organic gluten-free rolled oats, cranberries, raisins, pumpkin or sunflower seeds and almonds)

Mid-morning snack (if needed): Gluten-free bread or crackers with avocado and tuna

Lunch: Mixed-greens salad, gluten-free pasta primavera (including rice pasta, summer squash, courgettes, asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes and optional vegan cheese)

Mid-afternoon snack: Apple with cashew butter; melon

Dinner: Kale caesar salad (kale, fennel, quinoa and pine nuts) plus dressing (including anchovies or sardines); minestrone soup; salmon fillets (skin on) with roasted tomatoes and marinade.

Day 2

Breakfast: Water first thing out of bed; two tablespoons of honey; banana with cashew butter; fruit

Mid-morning snack (if needed): Gluten-free toast with almond butter and honey

Lunch: Mixed-greens salad, spicy soba noodle salad (including gluten-free soba noodles, red bell pepper, rocket, cashews and basil leaves, plus spicy vinaigrette)

Mid-afternoon snack: Fruit and nut bar; fruit

Dinner: Tuna nicoise salad (green beans, cannellini beans, rocket, tuna, red pepper, tomatoes and canned chickpeas), tomato soup, roasted tomatoes

Day 3

Breakfast: Water first thing out of bed; two tablespoons of honey; gluten-free oats with cashew butter and bananas; fruit

Mid-morning snack (if needed): Home-made hummus (including chickpeas and gluten-free soy sauce) with apples/crudités

Lunch: Mixed-greens salad, gluten-free pasta with power pesto (including rice pasta, walnuts and basil leaves)

Mid-afternoon snack: Avocado with gluten-free crackers; fruit

Dinner: Fresh mixed-greens salad with avocado and home-made dressing; carrot and ginger soup; whole lemon-roasted chicken

It is also believed that Djokovic owns a restaurant Eqvita in his new hometown of Monte Carlo, where he does not serve meat to any customers but provides gluten-free and more plant-based options.

The World No.1's endurance on the court can be attributed to his meditation and yoga practices and the Serbian has previously spoken of the positive power of meditation.

According to reports, Novak Djokovic is said to meditate for up to an hour a day at the Buddhist Buddhapadipa Temple during the Wimbledon and is close to monks in the complex. He also has a spiritual guru, who guides him before major tournaments and is said to be friends with many top psychologists and motivational speakers such as Jay Shetty, with whom he had an Instagram live chat recently as well.

As part of his daily routine, Djokovic is said to wake up before dawn and practicing yoga, Tai Chi or meditation for 20 minutes, according to a New York Times report.

Novak Djokovic birthday: Novak Djokovic net worth

According to Celebrity Net Worth, the Novak Djokovic net worth is estimated to be around US$220 million. The Novak Djokovic net worth includes sponsorship and endorsement deals from various brands like ASICS Shoes, Uniqlo, FitLine etc. The Serbian ace is also an ambassador for Ultimate Software Group, an American-based technology company.

According to Essentially Sports, Djokovic pockets an estimated figure of $20.6 million per year through sponsorship from Lacoste and several other endorsement deals. The Novak Djokovic net worth also includes his career prize money, which amounts to $132 million, a figure much higher than rival Roger Federer. 

The eight-time Australian Open champion is also known to have properties in top cities such as Monte Carlo, Belgrade, New York City, Miami, Marbella in Spain and Dubai, which is said to be worth $37.6 million on aggregate according to a YouTube video on ScoopHawk TV. 

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