Novak Djokovic shares what Roger Federer taught him which was key to him winning so many Grand Slam titles

Novak Djokovic’s rivalry with Roger Federer was one of the greatest in tennis history and delivered some of the best matches of all time.

The two legends, who were reunited at Rafael Nadal’s Roland Garros tribute ceremony, met 50 times on the ATP Tour, with the head-to-head record 27-23 in favour of Djokovic.

The Serb and Federer had 17 clashes at Grand Slam events, including several finals; the most recent of which was their meeting in the 2019 Wimbledon final.

Djokovic tallied more majors than his rival throughout their careers, but the current world number five says there’s something he learned from the Swiss player that helped his pursuit of the biggest titles in tennis.

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Novak Djokovic shares what Roger Federer taught him

When asked in an interview on the Neuspjeh prvaka YouTube channel how he peaks at Grand Slams four times a year, Djokovic responded: “There are ways, that’s our sport’s nature.

“The schedule is like that, and you must adapt. For most of your career, when you’re young, every tournament matters.

“But these are the big ones, we know that. Not everyone sees it that way. Many say Grand Slams are the most important, and slams are their dream.

“But really, they don’t live and train on their schedule to peak for Grand Slams, to be freshest for those events. They don’t do it; most just don’t.

“Why? Because that is how it is. Maybe they don’t believe in themselves enough, don’t believe they can go far in a Slam. So the week before, they try and get some points elsewhere.

“You know, not everybody is made to compete at the top for the biggest titles, and that is okay. But there are ways. Federer helped me a lot with that, not directly but indirectly.

“I watched how he planned his schedule. I learned a lot from him in that sense. It helped me understand how to time my form, when to take a break, even if I did not feel like it.

“I made mistakes, too. I didn’t take breaks when I should have done, but most of the time I made the right calls, which helped me to win and do what I’ve done.

“So I think you should always keep an open mind and watch because you never know who you might learn from.”

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Novak Djokovic’s record against Roger Federer in Grand Slam finals

Federer and Djokovic played each other five times in Grand Slam finals, meeting each other at the last stages of Wimbledon and the US Open on multiple occasions.

Heading into their first major final at the US Open in 2007, Federer had won four of their first five meetings, with Djokovic’s sole victory coming in the Canada Open final earlier that year.

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The eight-time Wimbledon champion came out on top that time, defeating his opponent in straight sets, in a match that featured two tiebreaks.

After that, however, Djokovic went on to win their next four meetings in major finals, triumphing one more time at Flushing Meadows in 2015, and emerging victorious in three Wimbledon finals at the expense of Federer.

Two of those bouts, the 2014 and 2019 Wimbledon finals, went to a fifth set.