Novak Djokovic took major inspiration from Roger Federer's schedule organization.
Djokovic and Federer were natural rivals until the latter's retirement last year as they formed two thirds of the traditional Big Three in tennis.
Although Federer got the better of Djokovic early on in their head-to-head record, the Serbian superstar eventually got the upper hand winning 10 of their last 13 meetings to have a 27-23 record. Djokovic also boasts four more Grand Slam titles following his US Open victory over Daniil Medvedev earlier this month.
A key reason for Djokovic's success, however, was taking a page out of Federer's book when it came to organizing his schedule so he could be at his very best during the Grand Slams.
Djokovic even went on to label that as the most important thing he learned from the Swiss legend.
“The most important thing I learned from Roger Federer is how to organize my schedule to be at my best at the Grand Slams,” Djokovic said (via The Tennis Letter). “He was one of the first to take organization 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.”
Safe to say, things have worked out for the 36-year-old as he is now the all-time men's leader with 24 Grand Slam titles, having impressively won 12 of the last 21 majors.
Djokovic is only targeting further Grand Slam titles, especially since holding the No. 1 ranking — and having the record for most weeks held with 392 at the time of writing — is no longer a major priority for him.
“After achieving the historic number one ranking for the longest weeks at number one, it’s going to be a relief for me because I’m going to focus all my attention on Slams, mostly,” Djokovic said. “When you are going for number one rankings, you kind of have to be playing the entire season.
“My goals will adapt and will shift a little bit, which means that I will have an opportunity to do that which, as a father and a husband, I’m really looking forward to. The focus now is the Slams, I have said that many times. Having family on the road with me will be a very difficult task, so I will play the tournaments that are right for me.”
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