World number three Roger Federer will be playing his first match as a 36-year-old on Wednesday, August 9, when he takes on local hope Peter Polansky in the second round of Rogers Cup 2017, a Masters 1000 tournament in the lead-up to US Open.
After having a glorious year, in which he has won two Grand Slam titles
(Australian Open and Wimbledon) and a Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and Miami), the Swiss great is all set to reclaim the world number title, which he last held in October 2012.
Standing in his way is his arch-rival and world number two Rafael Nadal, who is the frontrunner to dethrone Andy Murray from the top-spot. The reigning French Open champion is also in the fray in Montreal and is seeded above Federer at the top spot.
Also read: All you need to know about Rogers Cup 2017
Murray has withdrawn from the Rogers Cup with a hip injury and Stanislas Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic, ranked four and five respectively, have ended their season early. It is thus a three-way race for the top spot, but given the Brit's recent form, Nadal and Federer are the favourites.
Nadal primed for immediate glory
Nadal has 7,465 points, 285 less than the top-ranked Murray. He just needs to reach the semi-final in Montreal to reclaim the top spot after a three-year gap.
ATP Tennis Ranking Points: A quick guide
Notably, a player gets 1000 points for winning a Masters 1000 tournament, while the runner-up gets 600. The semi-finalists get 360, which is sufficient for Nadal to go a place up in ATP rankings.
A Grand Slam winner takes home 2000 points and the runner-up bags 1000. Semi-finalists in a major will receive 750 points, while 360 will be awarded to the quarter-finalists.
Federer can catch up
However, the battle will not end there as Federer has a bright chance of catching up with the Spaniard.
The Swiss star has 6,545 points, but he does not have any points dropping as he missed the entire second half of last season.
If he manages to win the Rogers Cup -- for the first time since 2006 -- in the coming week, he will have 7,545 points and will be closing in on Nadal.
A look at the top three of Men's singles rankings
| Player | Rank | Points |
| Andy Murray | 1 | 7750 |
| Rafael Nadal | 2 | 7465 |
| Roger Federer | 3 | 6545 |
Focus on Cincinnati Masters and US Open
Given that the race looks to continue to Cincinnati (Starting August 13), Federer has the edge over Nadal as he has won the Masters 1000 tournaments for a record seven times.
On the other hand, Nadal was ousted from the said tournament last year in the R16 round and thus he does not have to worry about dropping too many points.
The No. 1 title might finally be sealed at the US Open, starting later this month, as both the stars are looking determined to make a mark at the season's final Grand Slam tournament.
Federer has not won the premier tournament in the United States since 2008, but had reached the final in 2015, following which he skipped 2016 action.
On the other hand, Nadal won it in 2013, but his performances on hard courts have not been impressive in the recent past.
Nonetheless, both players would want to cap off what has been a dream year so far with a year-ending world number one title.
Tennis fans, it is time to fasten your seat belts!
