Now the Serb, who has won six of the past nine tournaments in Melbourne, is aiming to further reduce the gap.
Almost six years younger than Federer, Djokovic will have the chance to add several more - barring a dramatic loss of form or injury problems.
His pursuit of Federer and Nadal is made more remarkable by the fact he won his first major in 2008 - when Federer had claimed 13 and Nadal five - and only added a second three years later.
On Thursday, he has the opportunity to take a huge step towards reducing the gap to three - it just so happens the man standing in his way is the man he is ultimately chasing.