Phil Taylor has revealed that a break in the Portuguese mountains and studying the preparations of fellow sportsmen has aided his performance in recent weeks.
The Stoke-on-Trent thrower suffered defeat to Gary Anderson in the PDC World Championship final in January before beginning the 2015 season with televised losses to Terry Jenkins at The Masters and Anderson in the Premier League.
However, after convincing wins over Adrian Lewis and Stephen Bunting, as well as success in the sixth UK Open qualifier on Sunday, the veteran has insisted that he still relishes the opportunity to try to improve his game.
The 54-year-old is quoted by the Daily Record as saying: "I spent the three weeks prior to the Premier League relaxing in the mountains of Portugal and that is now starting to pay off.
"It was a bit of a retreat for healthy eating and living. I was drinking a lot of juice, eating salads and doing loads of walking, up to 12 miles a day, and swimming and saunas.
"I also did a lot of reading. I've been studying people's life stories like Djokovic and seeing how they conduct themselves and prepare for sport. That's been so good for me and I've picked up interesting pointers. I always want to improve."
Taylor will play Peter Wright in week four of the Premier League in Belfast on Thursday night.
Darren Plant
