Roger Federer, 36, is about to resume an already exceptional season in which he has won two more Grand Slam titles ( Australian Open and Wimbledon) to push those overall numbers up to the 19th line. A detour in what was a successful first edition of Laver Cup stands as his only on-court appearance since losing to Juan Martin del Potro in New York about a month ago. Currently ranked second in the world, Federer would love to surpass the current summit holder Rafael Nadal though the Spaniard is having a moment for himself after winning in Beijing twelve years after his sole success at China Open.

Thus, the gap between them got even bigger as Federer will have to be at his best to close that huge crack in the ranking.

Federer starting his autumn bid in Shanghai

Masters 1000 Series is now two clicks away from reaching the finish line. Rolex Masters in Shanghai and then a trip to Paris, France will close this chapter.

As the second seed in Shanghai, Federer received a bye for the inaugural round. He will face ether Diego Schwartzman or Jordan Thompson in his first official match since US Open. If hets the winning card, 2014 Shanghai champion will move into the next phase where Feliciano Lopez, Jack Sock or Alexandr Dolgopolov may emerge.The quarterfinals may bring David Goffin at the other end as the Belgian is having quite a run in Asia.

Trying to regain his form after an injury, he went on to win back-to-back titles in Shenzhen (ATP 250) and Tokyo (ATP 500). Seeded eighth in Shanghai, Goffin ca put Federer to a difficult test. I'll be interesting to watch whether or not he still has some gas left in the tank.

If he reaches the semis, Federer may see Alexander Zverev or Dominic Thiem emerging on the other side of the court.

Both the German and the Austrian are having a difficult time in Asia but their tennis capabilities are still above the average. And, finally, Federer may bump into Nadal for another blockbuster in the final act of the Rolex Masters in Shanghai.

Federer, Nadal to dominate another segment

The main debate of this chunk of the season revolves around Federer vs Nadal rivalry and whether or not the Swiss can indeed write history in a bid to reach the men's tennis summit once more.

Back in January, a seemingly out-of-the-spotlight Roger Federer stormed back to clinch another Grand Slam in Melbourne. What seemed to be a fortunate event turned into a longer hegemony as he backed that up by winning both Indian Wells and Miami Masters titles. For the 36-year-old, the cherry on top of all that was clinching another Wimbledon Championships title back in July.

A stunning bid with Federer capturing his 19th Grand Slam overall without dropping a single set. Now, to reach the world No. 1 once more would do nothing but to validate the idea that dreams can turn into reality and age is just a number.
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