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Murray stays cool at home

Andy Murray faces Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round at Wimbledon on Friday © Getty Images

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Andy Murray has revealed his latest secret weapon in his bid to defend his Wimbledon crown - and it's not new coach Amelie Mauresmo.

Murray, who set the trend for superstar tennis coaches with his appointment of Ivan Lendl at the end of 2011, could now spark another craze after installing one his long-favoured ice baths in his home.

Murray faces re-run of first pro match

Roberto Bautista Agut in action at SW19 © Getty Images

• World No.23 Roberto Bautista Agut will be Andy Murray's next opponent in the third round of Wimbledon after the Spaniard beat Jan Hernych 7-5 4-6 6-2 6-2.
• Bautista Agut was Murray's first opponent as a professional back in 2005 and the pair are familiar with each other's games.
• "I have actually practiced with him quite a lot. He's a very good player. He won a tournament last week on grass in Holland," added Murray.
• "He doesn't play like a lot of the Spanish guys and the grass courts suit his game pretty well.
• "It will be a step up as I think he's nearly in the top 20 in the world now and improving all the time. I'll need to play well if I'm going to beat him but I'm looking forward to it."

As part of his recovery process, Murray is ensuring he keeps cool with a plunge every evening during the tournament - although admittedly he has barely had to break sweat in progressing to the third round at SW19.

"Wednesday's early finish gave me the bonus of getting home quicker than I can ever remember during the Championships," Murray, who continued his serene progress with a comprehensive straight-sets win over Slovenian Blaz Rola in a match that lasted just 84 minutes, wrote in his BBC column.

"There are more serious benefits to winning as quickly as I did. It means I don't wake up feeling sore the next day, so I can spend more time away from the courts and resting rather than having to do a lot of recovery stuff.

"I make sure I have an ice bath every night. I have one at my house now and, while it couldn't exactly be described as a relaxing bath, I don't mind doing it because I know how much it helps.

"There are some things you do because you're told they help, and yet you don't necessarily feel that different, but I do feel much better when I get out of an ice bath. I think it's a bit like showering in the morning.

"My ice bath is in the corner of the room. The water is moving inside the ice bath because otherwise your body starts to heat it up, and it's a lot tougher when the water is moving around. I might be used to it after all this time but it's still not nice, believe me."

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