ROGER FEDERER SEES RAFA NADAL GETTING FAR AWAY IN ATP RACE FOR YEAR-END WORLD NO. 1 TENNIS RANKING

Written by: Staff on 26th September 2017

ROGER FEDERER SEES RAFA NADAL GETTING FAR AWAY IN ATP RACE FOR YEAR-END WORLD NO. 1 TENNIS RANKING

epaselect epa06224920 Switzerland's Roger Federer (down) and Spain's Rafael Nadal of the Team Europe celebrate after winning the Laver Cup tennis tournament in Prague, Czech Republic, 24 September 2017. EPA-EFE/MARTIN DIVISEK |

By Ricky Dimon

Roger Federer insisted after the U.S. Open that his fall schedule would consist of Shanghai, Basel, Paris, and the World Tour Finals in London. He also said that–barring injury–his schedule would not change. But the 36-year-old may be waffling now that Rafael Nadal appears to have a stranglehold on the year-end No. 1 ranking.

After Federer crashed out in the U.S. Open quarterfinals to Juan Martin Del Potro, Nadal went on to capture the title in Flushing Meadows–and with it 2,000 points.

Already ranked No. 1 in the world, Nadal’s 2,000 points propelled him almost 2,000 ahead of Federer (Nadal was defending fourth-round points from 2016, whereas Federer only added to his total because he did not play the season’s final Grand Slam last year). Mathematically, the 19-time major champion still has a chance to take over the top spot. Two Masters 1000 events remain in Shanghai and Paris, Basel awards 500 to the champion, and a plethora of points are available at the O2 Arena in London.

Nonetheless, Federer may end up withdrawing from the Paris Masters in order to rest in between Basel and London. That would likely turn out to be the case if Nadal has an insurmountable lead–or close to an insurmountable lead–in the race to year-end No. 1.

“Next weeks will be extremely important with Shanghai, Basel, maybe Paris, and ATP Finals in London,” Federer explained. “My goal is to get to Shanghai early, maybe on Friday. Basel will take priority over Bercy. [The year-end world No. 1 ranking] became a little bit secondary for me as Nadal got far away. I will focus on myself and I will play only when I am ready.”

The Swiss, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, sustained a back injury in Montreal during the summer hard-court swing and was less than 100 percent for the U.S. Open. As such, he does not want to overwork himself in the fall before the year-end championships in London and before what will be an important 2018 campaign during which he will surely have chances to add to his Grand Slam total.

Shanghai begins on Oct. 8, followed by Basel two weeks after that and Paris a week later. There is one week off in between Paris and the World Tour Finals.