Almost two years since he was last rated as the world’s No1 tennis player, Roger Federer goes into this week’s Paris Masters knowing that he can overhaul Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings.
Victory at his home event in Basel on Sunday took Federer within 2,230 points of the Serb but with Djokovic defending 2,500 points over the next few weeks having won in both Paris and the season-ending ATP Tour Finals in London last year, his Swiss rival has every chance of turning back the clock.
Federer reached the semi-finals of both tournaments last year and boasts a 66-10 win/loss ratio this season – the best on the tour. Already the record holder for the most consecutive weeks at No1 with 302, the 33-year-old has come through a serious back injury and the birth of second set of twins but would usurp Andre Agassi as the oldest world No1 in history if he manages it in Paris.
Roger Federer: the fall and rise of a champion
October-December 2012
After 17 weeks as No1, Federer ceded top spot to Djokovic by dropping points from his 2011 title wins at the Swiss Indoors Basel, Paris Masters and the ATP World Tour Finals.
January-March 2013
After a five-set defeat to Andy Murray in the semifinals of the Australian Open, Federer’s power waned as he lost his titles at the Rotterdam Open and the Dubai Championships before succumbing to a back injury at the Indian Wells Masters, which enforced a two-month break from the sport.
April-June 2013
Murray climbed to No2 on 1 April above Federer, who didn’t play again until the Madrid Open in mid-May, where he suffered a third-round exit, his earliest since 2003. The Swiss held on to his No3 ranking due to his win at Halle Open – his only title of 2013 – but he lost to world No116 Sergiy Stakhovsky in the second-round at Wimbledon.
July
The form of Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, and early exits from the French Open in June and Wimbledon, meant Federer slipped to No5. The 31-year-old was now in free-fall: losing in the second-round at Swiss Open, and re-injuring his back in the process.
August
Federer missed out on ATP points by withdrawing from the Canadian Open, and suffered defeat to Rafael Nadal in Cincinnati in the third-round. Federer fell to No7, his lowest ranking in over a decade, despite maintaining that he was “happy with his progress”.
September
After an encouraging start to the US Open, Tommy Robredo destroyed him in straight-sets in the fourth-round. Federer’s return to the top five was due to rivals such as Tomas Berdych being unable to accrue ATP points due to Davis Cup commitments.
October
Federer’s poor form continued: despite playing a game less due to a bye, Federer lost to Gaël Monfils in the Shanghai Masters third round. Juan Martín del Potro’s win at the Japan Open meant the Swiss slipped to seventh once more.
November-December
An encouraging showing at the Swiss Open finished with defeat in the final to Del Potro. Federer then beat the Argentinian at the Paris Masters – his first win over a top-10 player since January – qualifying for the ATP World Tour finals as No6 seed.
January 2014
Despite a semi-final appearance at the Australian Open, Federer slipped to No8 – his lowest ranking since 2002 – due to Stanislas Wawrinka’s victory in Melbourne, which also saw Federer displaced as Swiss No1.
February-March
The road to recovery begins. Federer fought from a set down to beat Berdych in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championship and narrowly lost to Djokovic in the final of Indian Wells Masters. With his back troubles behind him, Federer jumps to No5 in the rankings.
April
Federer begins the month with the best record on the Tour – 22 wins, four defeats – and climbs to fourth after a quarter-final appearance at the Miami Open.
May-July
Davis Cup distraction and a withdrawal from the Madrid Open to look after his pregnant wife delayed his progress on the Tour, but returning to win at Halle and as a finalist at both Monte Carlo and Wimbledon, Federer moved back ahead of Wawrinka into the No3 ranking.
August-October
With Nadal sidelined with a wrist injury Federer was a beaten finalist at the Canadian Open, and won the Cincinnati Masters in August – his 80th ATP singles title. Reaching the US Open semi-final in September further closed the gap on Nadal in second, and he surpassed the Spaniard with his Shanghai Masters title win this month. Further success last weekend at the Swiss Open means Federer is less than 500 points shy of Djokovic’s No1 ranking.
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