After spending six months on the sidelines due to a serious knee injury in 2016, it looks like Roger Federer is back to his best in 2017 and could be on course to regain the No.1 spot in men's tennis. Federer has beaten six top ten players in 2017 so far and has collected nearly double the ranking points of anyone else this year, with Rafael Nadal being his nearest challenger.
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Federer recently defeated Stan Wawrinka in the final of the Indian Wells Masters, which was his second title win of the year, following his victory at the Australian Open. Those results saw Federer jump up to sixth in the ATP rankings. This is Federer's best start to a season since 2004 and the Swiss looks unstoppable at this point, and his compatriot Stan Wawrinka believes that he could become the oldest men's number one in history, at the age of 35.
"He's playing really well, what is different maybe is he is playing closer from the baseline, preferring, using less his slice, he is using more top spin, putting more pressure all the time, returning better that's the difference I seem," ABS-CBS News quoted Wawrinka as saying.
"For sure he has a shot for number one, he has just won the first Masters final. For sure he has a big shot. It is going to be interesting to see. Rafa (Nadal) is playing well also and we will see when Novak (Djokovic) and Andy (Murray) are back from injury, it is going to be really interesting for tennis fans."
Right now tennis legend Andre Agassi holds the record for being the oldest player to hold the men's No.1 ranking, at the age of 33.
Federer himself was a bit surprised about his progress since making his return from a six-month injury lay off. He had set a target to get back into the top eight before Wimbledon and the fact that he is way ahead of schedule and with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray struggling with injuries, the Swiss could certainly become the World No.1 again if he can maintain this form for the rest of the year.
Despite boasting an illustrious career, Federer said that this year in particular was very different and special because of his age and his comeback.
"It is definitely very different, this year is very different to any other year that I have had, last year was also very different with the injury. But with the age, the comeback, I think this is very very special for me and I definitely see things differently to how I ever have (in the past), it is normal when you realise that you are not going to have another 15 years to play on tour," Federer said.
