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Andy Murray meets world judo champion Teddy Riner for unusual training session in Paris

The meeting between the pair was the first-ever event held on the newly-opened roof of the La Grande Arche de La Defense

Thursday 25 May 2017 19:22 BST
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Teddy Riner and Andy Murray met for an unusual training session in Paris
Teddy Riner and Andy Murray met for an unusual training session in Paris

Andy Murray geared up for his challenge at the forthcoming French Open by meeting up with world judo champion Teddy Riner atop of La Grande Arche de La Defense.

The meeting between the pair, organised by their sponsors Under Armour, was the first-ever event held on the newly-opened roof of the iconic Parisian structure and it saw tennis’ world number one put through his paces.

Murray heads into the second Grand Slam of the season on the back of a dip form, having struggled somewhat since claiming the number one spot from Novak Djokovic at the tail end of his excellent 2016, so the Scot is taking nothing for granted.

“Being number one is about never standing still, you can never believe you have nothing new to learn and must always push to find whatever can take your game forward,” he said.

Murray and Riner face off atop La Grande Arche

Despite it being one of the stranger training sessions of his career, Murray found the event useful and hopes to take what he learned forward to Roland Garros.

Murray said: “It was really interesting to see how Teddy prepares for the biggest events and pushes the boundaries of his own training, not just physically but also mentally.”

Riner lead Murray through drills relevant for the dirt of clay court tennis, with the hope that the world number one can improve on his best French Open finish, finishing as a runner-up to Djokovic in 2016.

The 28-year-old Frenchman, who won judo gold in the Men's +100kg category at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, said: “Judo is built on the ability to turn defence into attack, a strategy that is also crucial to success in clay court tennis and I believe the session has taught each of us invaluable lessons, not only on its importance but also the patience, focus and will required to achieve it”.

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