INTERVIEW: Returning US Open Champ Andy Murray Talks Sneakers and Off-Court Training

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Sneaker Report caught up with Gold medalist and historic Wimbledon Champ, Andy Murray, before he returns as the defending Grand Slam champion next week at the 2013 US Open.

Andy Murray has had an incredible year. The No. 3 world ranked tennis star took Gold in the London Olympics, racked up his first US Open title, and last month defeated No. 1 ranked Novak Djokovic for the Wimbledon title to become the first British champion in 77 years. Interesting enough, most of Murray's major tennis moments have happened in the adidas Barricade 7, a shoe he has been loyal to throughout his successful year.

Before the No. 1 ranked British tennis play returns to Arthur Ashe Stadium, he took a moment to discuss off-court training, pre-match rituals and his dependable adidas Barricades.

Interview by Calvy Click / @clickmasterflex

You've had such a successful year. Coming off of your win at Wimbledon, what is your mindset going into the US Open this year as returning champ?

Well I feel good, I have had a lot more confidence in myself than I did this time last year. This is a new experience for me as well, I've never come into a Grand Slam tournament as returning champion. I don't know exactly how I'll respond but I'm looking forward to it.

You've been very loyal to the adidas Barricade 7 shoe for the past year. Will we see you in the new model next week?

There's a good chance I'll be wearing it to the US Open, I'm going to test it again over the next couple of days. But yeah, for professional athletes to make changes, especially when they're doing well, is difficult and often when there isn't a problem with a piece of equipment like the shoe or racquet or whatever a lot of it is mental. But I've been testing the shoe and it is a good shoe, so I might be using it next week.

So we'll just have to wait and see. How many pairs do you go through in one tournament?

The Barricades are pretty durable, in a Grand Slam I could probably use 2 or 3 pairs, so that's 7 matches and obviously with all of the practice sessions and stuff in between. Sometimes I use a new pair every match like at Wimbledon, but on the hard court I tend to wear the same pair for a few matches.

Do you have any specific pre-match rituals you indulge in?

Not really before matches, I listen to music normally just before I go on the court. I do all of the same routines. I'll practice and warm-up around the same time before every single match.

Do you have a favorite off-court training routine?

I've actually really gotten into Pilates in the last year. I used to do a lot of stuff on the running track. The thing with tennis is there's not one thing that you have to be good at, you have to be good at a variety of different things. I really enjoy the training aspect because one day you could be doing Pilates and one day you're doing weightlifting, the next day it's core stability stuff then you're on the running track, so it's always changing. Right now, I've really gotten into Pilates.

Do you have a training shoe you prefer? Pilates you probably do barefoot but for your track work do you have a favorite?

Yeah Pilates doesn't really need a shoe, but these Boost shoes, I don't know if you've tried them, but I got them when I was in Australia this year and a lot of people I know started training in them and everyone's given pretty positive feedback on them.

Special thanks to adidas for the opportunity and stayed tuned with Sneaker Report as we head into the US Open next week here in New York.

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