The two greats returned to the top of the sport last year, gobbling up all four Grand Slams between them and finishing top of the ATP rankings.
Roger Federer completely missed the clay court season and played far fewer events that usual to concentrate on his favoured events.
And it culminated in a hugely successful year. Rafael Nadal took time out before the season got underway to get back in shape before winning at Roland Garos and Flushing Meadows.
And Annabel Croft, a Sky Sports tennis expert, believes their strategies have changed the game.
Last year was dogged by injuries for the top players with both Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic missing huge parts.
Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori also missed chunks.
And while Croft insists the way Federer and Nadal played means they would have been the best players even if the others were about, she thinks others will look at their time away from court and follow suit.
“I think that you can never underestimate the heart and mind of a champion,” Croft told Express Sport.
“I think the fact they took so much time off has kind of changed the way people think about how to approach their tennis.
“It’s quite scary to go against the grain isn’t it – they all have their routines – and Federer’s kind of taken extended breaks before but not for that long.
“It’s made players think they can go away. And go away to A. get their bodies fresh and healthy and fit again and get rid of some of their injuries, but also take time out to work on bits of their game and I think that’s what both of them did.
“If you look at Nadal and some of the things he said, he was saying it’s the first time in his career when he’s really taken some time out to really work on things and he came back a reinvigorated character, and when you compare it to two years before had been so open and honest about losing confidence and self doubts was such a different character last year.
“It was very exciting watching the two of them come back and it certainly gave a lot of interest to the sport.”
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