Novak Djokovic Reveals Federer, Nadal And His 'Secret To Success'

Novak Djokovic has shed light on the reasons that have seen Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and himself remain a cut above the rest over the past decade and a half. The trio has won 46 of the 54 Grand Slam titles between them with only a handful of players able to break their stronghold in recent years.

Federer leads the way with 20 major titles followed by Nadal with 17, while Djokovic, who has won the two titles in 2018 stands at 14, which is equal with previous record holder Pete Sampras. Only Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka have been able to get their hands on the majors in the last 13-and-a-half years.

The Swiss ace, 37, is in the latter stages of his career, while Nadal, 32, and Djokovic, 31, have also been around for over a decade. Despite that, the younger generation has not been able to topple them from the top of the world rankings.

The Spaniard is currently the number one ranked men’s singles player followed by Djokovic at number two and Federer at number three. They also hold all the majors between them in 2018 with no other player coming close to ending their dominance.

And Djokovic believes it is due to the high level of consistency in their game that they have remained at the top for so many years. Another reason he pointed out during his interview is that the top players are able to get over their losses quickly and move on.

“The consistency, as well, of the high level of play and consistency of the good results on the major events. Probably that's the most important thing now between us three,” Djokovic said, as quoted on Tennis World USA.

The trio emergence as rivals has taken tennis to a new level and Djokovic believes that one of the reasons for that is their varied style of play. The Serbian and Nadal are little similar in the way they like to play from the baseline, but their approaches are completely different.

Moreover, Djokovic is more attacking and also his preferred surface remains hard court, unlike Nadal, who prefers clay. Federer, on the other hand, is from the serve and volley school of play and his preferred surface is grass. He has had to adapt his game as the new generation of players are mostly baseliners.

“Again, looking at the game in general, we are more or less very much different from each other,” the former world number one added. “You know, we have different styles. So it's good to see some variety in the top of the men's tennis and it's good for the fans to follow up.”