He has done so on a diet of sushi, chicken and steak, all washed down with a protein shake. It might not be everyone's idea of a balanced menu but it is precisely what the Scot requires to nourish his battered body after the extreme conditions he had to endure for the best part of four fraught hours against Feliciano Lopez on Saturday.
The afternoon temperatures hit 100˚ Fahrenheit at courtside during his 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) victory, on a day where two junior players had to be taken off court to receive medical treatment and Belarusian Olga Govortsova had to get her blood pressure checked.
The forecast for this week is decidedly more changeable – thunderstorms and showers feature – but in terms of the standard of opposition he is exposed to, the Scot is about to find the competition heating up.
"I eat meat and fish and I have protein shakes which I take after the match," Murray said. "I try to get about 150g of protein in me today, tomorrow. That helps repair the muscles. I need to eat a lot because you can lose two or three kilos. And in matches like that, you don't drink properly. When you finish you're still burning calories so I just need to make sure I stay topped up. If you don't, you'll be tired going into the next match."
The Olympic champion will have to be at his best just to be around for the remainder of the competition. He next faces a cocksure young Canadian who breezed past James Black in the last round, has arguably the biggest serve in the game and has won his only previous meeting with Murray, in Barcelona in April.
Although four inches shorter than American 6'9" ninth seed John Isner, who this morning plays Philip Kohlschreiber of Germany, as of yesterday Milos Raonic had served 29 more aces than anyone else in the tournament. He gets 58% of his first serves in, and only 43% of them ever come back.
But then, his capacity to try to serve a bit harder on second serve means that only one man, Lleyton Hewitt, has more double faults than the Canadian, who aged three moved west from Montenegro with his family.
"I don't know him that well but I say hi to him when I see him," said Murray, who has an acquaintance with Raonic's coach Galo Blanco and occasional team member Alex Corretja. "I know his coach a little bit from Spain, and obviously Alex, when I worked with him. He has a huge serve and he has improved a lot from the back of the court."
"He goes for his second serve as well," Murray added. "You know, he can serve some doubles but also get free points from his second serve. He probably can't hit the spots that someone like Isner can because of the height, but he is maybe a little bit more solid from the back of the court. This is his best year on the tour so far and it will be tough."
Almost universally, the 21-year-old is regarded as one of the coming men of world tennis and the Scot agrees with that prognosis. Murray hopes to get his maiden grand slam win in the bag before Raonic does.
"I mean, he obviously has the potential [to win majors]," the Scot said. "When you have big, big weapons that obviously helps. He's had some good wins this year. He's also had some tough losses. Against Tsonga at the Olympics, he lost a very close one. He lost a close one against [Sam] Querrey at Wimbledon as well. His match with Hewitt in Australia was a tough match. But he's obviously playing better and better, and gaining experience all the time. He's definitely going to be dangerous."
Whether or not the Scot has to again experience the same conditions on court at Flushing Meadows, there was something masochistic about the manner in which he insisted afterwards he was happy to have the experience of playing in such a draining environment.
Deprived of his usual three-week training block in Miami in favour of the mild, genteel surroundings of the Olympics, like a footballer deprived of pre-season shuttle runs, Murray feels the best preparation can be gained on the match court. The conditions on Saturday were more unpleasant than any he had experienced, even in the dry heat of Melbourne in January.
"Both can be brutal but it is maybe a bit more draining here when the conditions are like that with the humidity," Murray said. "In Australia if obviously gets hotter when the court's hot, so your legs really, really feel it. Also, because it is so dry, you feel like you're sucking in warm air, which is a bit uncomfortable at times.
"I hope it is a benefit if anything, because I need to spend time on the court. But there are a lot of things that are challenging. If I had concentrated a little bit better I could have finished the match in two and a half hours rather than four. But it is hard in those conditions to stay focused for a long time."
The challenge for Murray today will be different but no less difficult – keeping his concentration while those mighty Raonic serves whizz around him at 143mph.
analysis No.4 survives last-round heat to set up tie with hot-shot Canadian, writes Stewart Fisher
