On the verge of reaching the three months milestone of the season, the current situation in men's singles is nowhere near to what the existing signals indicated in January. A stage dominated by Roger Federer is perhaps one of the greatest gifts tennis could put on the table. The Swiss begun his triumphal march at the Australian Open and there are no signs of future decline. The way the stars have aligned with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray out for a while ensures an opening for new topics of discussion regarding where Federer will eventually stop his celestial ride.
Federer could regain a top 5 presence
A quick look at the ranking will reveal a resurrected Roger Federer comfortably sitting on the 6th place. The 2nd Masters of the season is about to start having Federer as the 4th seed. A solid run in Miami will ensure him a place in the top 5 ATP when the next update will take place. But it won't be a simple walk in the park. Despite being a top seed, he could face Juan Martin del Potro in the 3rd round. The Argentine, 29th seed in Miami, is searching to regain his well-deserved top spot after he nearly quit tennis back in 2015 due to some lingering injuries. Federer will have no ranking points to defend in Miami, while other top 5 contenders like Kei Nishikori will be bearing quite a burden.
The Japanese star was a runner-up back in 2016 losing the final to Djokovic.
It's extraordinary how Federer turned the table the other way around. When the Australian Open started, the live ranking put Federer in the 35th position as he had to defend the semifinal of 2016 in Melbourne. An early exit there could make his return a thousand times harder.
Instead, he went on winning the title.
Federer will walk free for the most of the season
If he'll continue to put in such a consistent tennis, having him on the highest spot of the ranking won't be such an improbable scenario. Murray and Djokovic will have to defend thousands of points each in the following months, while Federer will have to keep in the vault last year's semifinal at Wimbledon and few other hundreds of points from Monte Carlo, Roma, Halle, and Stuttgart.
Regarding the ATP Race ranking ( which includes only the points of the current season), Roger Federer is already a mile away from the herd. He has 3055 points while the 2nd spot's occupant Rafael Nadal owns 1645. Some higher-stages appearances in the Grand Slams and Masters combined with some poorer results from Djokovic and Murray could give Federer the perfect gift for his 36th anniversary.
