Novak Djokovic reflected on breaking through the Federer-Nadal tennis dominance, acknowledging that for many years he felt there was little space for a third figure.
During a recent interview with tennis legend John McEnroe, Djokovic discussed how he inserted himself into the rivalry between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
The Serb mentioned that for many years; he sensed there was little space for a third player among them. However, he ultimately embraced the role, accepting that it may have cast him as the ‘bad guy’ in tennis.
“To break the rivalry of Nadal and Federer, I kinda put myself in the mix, in a way. For Many years I felt like there was no room for three, so I had to deal with that, but it’s okay, in the end of the day I accepted that kind of role as maybe the bad guy of tennis,” he said.
Djokovic has enjoyed a remarkable career, surpassing both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the all-time Grand Slam tally for men’s singles. He now holds 24 Majors, while Nadal has 22, and the retired Federer has 20.
Notably, the 36-year-old is currently tied with Margaret Court, who also has 24 Grand Slam titles. He will have the chance to break this record at the 2024 Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic shares insights into the lessons he learned from Roger Federer
The Big 3 pictured at the Laver Cup 2022.
In the same interview, Novak Djokovic reflected on the valuable insights he and his team gained from Roger Federer before the Swiss tennis legend announced his retirement.
Roger Federer, currently 42, turned pro in 1998, five years before the Serb. He holds numerous records, including ten consecutive Grand Slam finals and 31 Grand Slam finals.
Federer also has Olympic medals (gold in men’s doubles in 2008, silver in men’s singles in 2012), spent 310 weeks at ATP’s top ranking, and shares the record of six year-end championship titles with Djokovic.,
In the interview, Novak Djokovic highlighted the influence of Nadal and Federer on his career. He specifically mentioned learning from the Swiss about effective scheduling and peak performance at Grand Slam tournaments
The reigning US Open champion was inspired by Federer’s approach. He and his team even observed and took notes on how the 20-time Major winner managed his schedule.
“Nadal and Federer, those two guys have really shaped my career and for me as a player, it’s been a great deal. One thing I learnt from Federer is how to organize my schedule to be able to peak at the Grand Slams,” he said.
“He was one of the first players to really take the scheduling preparations through different levels, I was inspired by that and I was taking notes with my team and I was taking a lot from scheduling, observing him and his team and how he has done about it,” he added.
