Novak Djokovic reveals the ‘most important thing’ he ‘learned’ from Roger Federer
Novak Djokovic lead the men’s Grand Slam race outright for the first time this year when he won Roland Garros, and the Serb has revealed that he ‘took inspiration’ from Roger Federer, who held the most major singles titles for 13 years.
Djokovic began the year with 21 major titles and only trailed Rafael Nadal, but after winning the Australian Open, Roland Garros and the US Open has jumped two ahead of his Spanish rival.
🏆🙏🏼2️⃣4️⃣💜💛 #USOpen pic.twitter.com/HqWvI14E1c
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) September 11, 2023
The world No.1 often speaks about how Grand Slam tournaments are his priority, and operates a heavily reduced schedule to most of his rivals in a bid to prioritise the four biggest events.
And the 36-year-old has given Federer some credit for this, “The most important thing I learned from Roger Federer is how to organise my schedule to be at my best at the Grand Slams.
“He was one of the first to take organisation and preparation to the next level. That inspired me, I took notes with my team. I took a lot of inspiration from his schedule and observed his team and the way they did things.”
Now that the major tournaments are over for 2023, it appears that Djokovic is unlikely to compete at many more tournaments until next year and he has already officially confirmed that he won’t be part of the ATP tour returning to China for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Over the years, some of the best support I receive anywhere in the world is in China. Shanghai has always been one of my favorite tournaments in the season. I will be missing my #NoleFam in China. I hope that I can come back to China in the future and play in front of all of you…
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) September 17, 2023
Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer
Djokovic may have revealed that he took inspiration from his great rival Federer, but we at Tennishead wanted to know how the numbers compare from both of their incredible careers:
Career-high: No.1 (392 weeks*)
ATP titles: 96
Grand Slam titles: 24
ATP Masters 1000 titles: 39
Olympic medals: 1 (Singles Bronze – 2008)
ATP Finals titles: 6 (2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 & 2022)
Davis Cup titles: 1 (2010)
*Currently the ATP No.1
Roger Federer
Career-high: No.1 (310 weeks)
ATP titles: 103
Grand Slam titles: 20
ATP Masters 1000 titles: 28
Olympic medals: 2 (Doubles Gold – 2008, Singles Silver – 2012)
ATP Finals titles: 6 (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010 & 2011)
Davis Cup titles: 1 (2014)
Head-to-head
Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer: 27-23
Most recent meeting: Djokovic beat Federer, 7-6(1) 6-4 6-3 (Australian Open 2020 Semi-final)
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