Andy Murray has enlisted a fitness trainer best known for bulking up basketball superstars as he looks to shape up for the US Open - the grand slam he relishes even more than Wimbledon.
But after 14 matches in 17 days, including appearances in the final, semi-final and quarter-final respectively of his past three tournaments, leg-weary Murray was putting his feet up this weekend rather than pumping iron.
He was knocked out of the Cincinnati Masters by Andy Roddick on Friday night, losing 6-3 6-4 to relinquish his unbeaten record against the American after two previous stunning victories.
And as he approaches the US Open, which begins on August 28 in the New York borough of Queens, Murray recognises he needs to cope better with the endurance side of the game.
He said: "I want to get that part out of the way so that when I go on court there are no excuses physically, there are no problems physically, and I can just go out there and play against the best players in the world and be in good shape every time.
"I think when I do that, I'm going to get into the top 10 very quickly."
On Monday he will be confirmed in the world's top 20 for the first time but Murray will skip the tournament in New Haven and prepare for the US Open with coach Brad Gilbert at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida.
The new trainer should play a part, even if his impact over the short space of a week might be negligible.
"It's a guy that Brad uses - or Brad used - and knows very well from over in California," said Murray.
"He works with some NBA players, and he works with big guys who he wants to take away body fat and put on muscle. I definitely need a bit more muscle, but I could probably do with some more body fat as well!"
Murray blamed fatigue for his loss to Roddick, who he sensationally beat en route to the San Jose title in February and then overpowered in straight sets at Wimbledon.
However after reaching the final in Washington and semi-finals last week in Toronto, losing in the quarter-finals at Cincinnati may prove a blessing.
Murray will be playing best-of-five-sets matches at the US Open, rather than the best-of-three matches he has contested recently.
"I'm going to relax for a couple of days," said Murray.
"I think I've done enough the last few weeks to earn a few days' rest. Then I'm going to work really hard."
Murray ousted Romanian Andrei Pavel in the first round at the US Open last year before bowing out to Frenchman Arnaud Clement.
Expectations are higher this year after three glorious weeks under the wing of Gilbert, who famously led Andre Agassi and of course Roddick to grand slam titles.
"I'm really looking forward to it," said the 19-year-old Scot.
"It's a really exciting time for me. Now I'm in the top 20 for the first time, seeded at a grand slam, and I've got a new coach who is definitely one of the best coaches in the world and a good guy, we get on really well off the court.
"It's my favourite tournament, one that I view as the biggest one in the year for me, so my preparation has to be good for that."
Because of exhaustion, Murray even considered withdrawing from his match against Roddick, before thinking better of it.
During his magnificent August, Murray has beaten good friend Tim Henman twice and most notably claimed the scalp of Roger Federer, the greatest player in the game.
Murray blasted past Federer in round two at Cincinnati, a result which propelled him into the major league of world tennis. Rafael Nadal is the only other player to have beaten Federer in 2006.
"I knew I could play good tennis against the best players, but I had not done it consistently before," said Murray.
"That was the one thing that I needed to achieve, and I've obviously done that.
"I have proved that I can go deep into tournaments three weeks in a row, and maybe I was struggling in the semi-finals last week, and pretty much all of this week, but that was good for me.
"I probably wasn't expecting to maybe do as well as I have done and beat a world number one, eight-time grand slam champion. I maybe wasn't expecting it to be as good as that."
