Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ended his 2017 season after Wimbledon due to an elbow injury Getty

KEY POINTS

  • Djokovic returns to action at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships on Friday (29 December).
  • Federer made a similar comeback after six months out at the start of the 2017 campaign.

Novak Djokovic is not hiding the fact that he is going to take inspiration from Roger Federer when he makes his comeback from injury ahead of the 2018 season.

The Serb has not played for almost six months after ending his 2017 season following his quarter-final loss at Wimbledon owing to an elbow injury. He will make his return at the ongoing Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi when he takes on Roberto Bautista Agut on Friday (29 December).

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There have been a number of questions raised about Djokovic's return from injury as he has amassed 12 Grand Slam titles and spent 223 weeks as the world number one. Similar questions were asked about Federer, when he spent six months on the sidelines in 2016 owing to a knee injury.

The Swiss ace silenced his doubters on the tennis court as he ended 2017 with seven titles, which included two Grand Slams – his first major win since 2012 – and also finished the year as the world number two. He narrowly missed out on the top spot to long-time rival and fellow veteran Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic believes he can take inspiration from the 19-time Grand Slam champion when he makes his comeback as he believes Federer's fitness first mantra and his ability to enjoy what he does gives him the ability to continue playing at the top level despite being 36-years-old.

"My general goals in tennis and life is to really enjoy what I do and that's what drives me still," Djokovic told Sport360. "That's what drives Roger (Federer) by the way."

"I mean you saw what he has done in the last year after coming back from a six-month, similar to me, absence from the tour and coming back and almost becoming No1 and Rafa (Nadal) is world No1. That's proof that you can do it.

"It doesn't matter the age or not, if you take care of your body, your body's kind of reversing that age clock and your mind as well, if you have that kind of spirit of a child enjoying what it does then you get energy," the Serb explained.

Novak Djokovic Roger Federer Rafael Nadal Australian Open