How Tennis' Aging Stars Should Prioritize Their Schedules in 2017

Roger Federer's 2017 Australian Open win over Rafael Nadal did more than show that the legends are not through competing for Grand Slam titles. They proved the importance of rest and recovery to perform at their absolute best levels. There is clearly a blueprint on how aging stars should prioritize their schedules.

Nadal has long had to manage his sore knees by pacing his conditioning and coming back with renewed energy. In 2013, Mike Dickson reported in the Daily Mail that he used Plasma Rich Platelet therapy, which is a legal process that allows him to reinject blood into his knee tendons. Above all, he has needed rest and proper timing to maximize his training and schedule.

Federer took a page from Nadal's playbook. Last year, the Swiss Maestro was unable to compete at his best after knee surgery and attempts to come back strong for a summer run at Wimbledon, the Olympics and the U.S. Open. His season ended in the semifinals at Wimbledon, and he realized he would have to take time off, recover and plot his return in 2017.

He explained to the Associated Press (via Tennis.com) the key to his semifinal win over Stan Wawrinka:

"

What I've just come to realize is when you don't feel well, you have too many problems going on, you just won't beat top-10 players.

That's where both, I guess, Rafa and myself said, "OK, enough of this already. Let's get back to 100 percent, enjoy tennis again, enjoy the practice."

"

Their spectacular 2017 Australian Open success was yesterday's story, but in the future, it will impact the way the Big Four superstars extend their chances to win more majors.

The Mighty Federer

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He's already been scaling down his schedule in the past few years. No longer able to play 25 tournaments a year and lap the field for the No. 1 ranking, Federer has continued to play his best tournaments on faster court surfaces, including Dubai, Halle, Wimbledon, Cincinnati, the U.S. Open and the World Tour Finals in London.

He's not going to play Rotterdam next week, but he will play Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami, according to his schedule on Federer's official website. The Miami tournament may or may not happen. He's skipped it three of the last four years, and if he goes far at Indian Wells, he's more likely to need recovery time and forego the trip to Florida.

The mighty Swiss has also been cutting out more of his clay-court appearances in the spring, and he's expected to do so again. He likes Monte Carlo, but skipping Madrid and playing Rome might be all he wishes to do before the French Open. It's the major he's least likely to win, and he does not want to compromise his chances a few weeks later at Wimbledon.

It might also be best for Federer to skip the Rogers Cup that precedes Cincinnati's Western & Southern Open. It worked perfectly in 2015 when he plastered a weary Novak Djokovic in the final.

Comeback King Nadal

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The past few years have seen Nadal play small South American clay-court tournaments, but this time he was scheduled to play against a deeper cast of stars in Rotterdam next week. That is until Nadal pulled out, citing his need for more rest, according to the AP (via ESPN.co.uk).

And it's the right move. Why would aging superstars play February matches or mid-majors unless they needed the work after a long layoff? Look around, the best players are decreasing appearances in the smaller tournaments, something that should concern the ATP organizers. But if the tour wants its megastars to compete for longer careers, its hands are tied.

So it's off to the New World where Nadal will play in Mexico before Indian Wells and Miami. Like Federer, Nadal might be better served skipping Miami and heading over to Europe earlier for rest and training on his beloved red clay.

He still plans to play Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and the French Open, according to his schedule, but his body likely cannot hold up to sweep through the way he did in 2012. Perhaps Monte Carlo and either Madrid or Rome should be enough to prepare for Roland Garros. He should drop Barcelona despite his great success there.

The Spaniard added the Queen's Club grass-court tournament in June to get ready for Wimbledon. After that, he should only compete at the U.S. Open and Masters 1000 tournaments like Canada, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris. He's usually been too worn down to maintain his best level on the late-season tournaments played on faster courts.

Nadal should consider ending his year after September's U.S. Open. WTA superstar Serena Williams has done this successfully the past two years, and of course, Federer and Nadal came back strong to rule Australia a couple of weeks ago.

Super Novak Djokovic

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It wasn't too long ago that the Serb held the Grand Slam of tennis. He ruled the ATP with one of the legendary title-winning streaks of all time.

And he's not been the same since capturing the French Open. It's as if the championship dominance was drained from his body. He would lose his No. 1 ranking by the end of the year and get bounced by journeyman Denis Istomin in the second round of the Australian Open.

Djokovic played one Davis Cup match last week, but he told reporters that "The pain I had prevented me from playing the points as I wanted to."

He will take time off until early March when Indian Wells and Miami will challenge him to defend those crowns. And if he's not healthy and ready to compete in March, why not come back in April or May?

Djokovic has trailed Federer and Nadal most of his career, at least in terms of blooming later, adding more fitness and intensity and putting together a few epic seasons. He will be 30 years old in May and has no doubt noticed how valuable time off was for Federer and Nadal. It would be surprising to see him play anything less than a Masters 1000 tournament, and why should he do otherwise?

The No. 1 ranking should not matter at this time. He needs to be healthy, renew his competitive spirit and play each major like it's his ticket to stay alive. More time off is in the cards, and eventually he will get his groove back.

Maniacal Murray

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The world No. 1 flopped at the U.S. and Australian Opens, and the biggest reason is overwork. He played 79, 85 and 87 matches the past three years, including championship-level tennis to help Great Britain win the Davis Cup, grueling losses to Djokovic at major events and a frenetic pace to capture the top ranking after the 2016 French Open. His nine titles all came from May through November.

Murray needs a break, not just a few weeks here and there, but a few months.

He's not going to do that, not with the mandatory Masters 1000 tournaments and his hopes to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. So how does he get rejuvenated as he joins Djokovic in celebrating his 30th birthday in May?

Murray's official schedule shows 14 remaining tournaments (not including the WTF year-end tournament for the top eight qualifiers) and only two of them (Dubai and Queen's Club) are less than Masters 1000 tournaments.

Really, Murray should probably skip Dubai and Monte Carlo and possibly Madrid. He's been a grinding warrior for over a decade, and he doesn't have the firepower to play any other way. So he needs fresh legs, not 85 percent for the rest of the year.

He's not going to give up his No. 1 crown, so keeping it means playing these 14 events.

But it might be better for his long-term career to cut 14 tournaments down to 10 this year. It would be bold to skip March and come on the clay-court tour, but he's probably not going to do it.