Roger Federer seems to have discovered a way to beat up time. Aged 36, he has been on a roll in 2017, winning two Grand Slams in the process. Three more Masters 1000 successes and two ATP 500 perks propelled him as high as the second seat in the ATP rankings. With no intention to overplay at any point during this autumn, Federer went on to abandon the pursuit of the year's end No. 1 slot, allowing Rafael Nadal to secure the summit with ease.

The Swiss Tennis wizard is in London where the Nitto ATP Finals will start on Sunday (Nov. 12), featuring the best eight players of the year.

And, as always, the old guard is dictating the rhythm, with Federer and Nadal leading the pack. Federer seeks his seventh title at the ATP Finals and the first one since 2011. Usually, he tends to deliver some outstanding tennis on a fast indoor hard surface. Last year, he skipped the event as a part of that six-month hiatus from tennis.

Federer beautifies a long twilight of his professional career

Once he got past the 30 years of age milestone, Roger Federer entered the zone where the retirement talks are present. It's just the way things are and he has no other option but to make the most out of his remaining time on the ATP Wolrd Tour. Lately, in the light of the freshness he has delivered throughout this season, those gloomy talks have faded away, but they will pop up again soon.

Still, he deserves all the credit for the fact that he almost managed to beat up time. To some degree, he has succeeded in his celestial quest and his numbers in 2017 are proof of that. He won 49 matches losing only four times.

Hats off to him for winning those seven titles thus far this season, but these awards cannot change the fact that his career hangs by a fragile thread.

Roger Federer has little time to spare

The 36-year-old Swiss tennis star can be seen as a road opener for those seeking to prolong the sports career. Moreover, a career's twilight doesn't necessarily need to be a flat one, some shiny items are allowed into the equation. What he has done this year will set the bar higher for the years to come.

At the end of the day, Federer remains a highly-skilled professional tennis player who has been around for more than 15 years. Doing a perfect job on a daily basis, now that the retirement is right around the corner he finds difficult to embrace the change, perhaps the biggest change he will suffer in his entire life.

Eventually, he will make the final call on what will probably be one of the saddest days in tennis history.