Roger Federer, 36, has turned an uncertain comeback campaign into a dazzling success story. Ranked No. 17 in the world, he jumped into a harsh 2017 Australian Open main draw. Two weeks later he was lifting another Grand Slam trophy above his head after an epic final against his past nemesis Rafael Nadal. Melbourne stood as a launching pad for Federer who went on to cap six more titles during the season putting his overall threshold to 95 ATP titles.
Skipping the entire clay court swing helped him a lot with Federer preserving a certain amount a freshness for the most part of the year.
He did make one mistake, and that was choosing to pursue an extended US Open Series schedule. That trip to Canada hampered the entire summer swing, on the hard court, once some old back issues resurfaced.
Roger Federer and the old-time environment
Roger Federer saw himself starting 2017 in a rather strange place. After being away from Tennis for six months, his name was not amongst the favorites anymore. That aspect played well as he hasn't had to deal with a serious load in terms of pressure. Playing freely was a big part of that spectacular successful scenario. Eventually, the whole business translated into one of his best seasons in recent years.
Heading for 2018, things will go back in the same old spot.
Over the last 15 years or so, Federer put his name up in the luxury boxes each time a season was about to start. Now, Federer will be there to reclaim the superstar status of his.
He and Nadal will do all the heavy lifting in terms of defending ranking points in 2018.
Federer's schedule remains under a veil of surprises
When it comes to Roger Federer's 2018 schedule and its possible trajectory, things are currently trapped under a thick cloud.
He is expected to go for the usual strategy that includes a special focus on those parts of the calendar where the action is being held on faster surfaces like hard and grass court. Not long ago, there were rumors about Federer considering the clay court swing as an option for the next year.
So far, Roger Federer has made an official commitment for two events only.
He will play at Hopman Cup before heading to Melbourne Park where he will try to defend the 2017 Australian Open title.
Earlier this year, after his success in Melbourne he traveled to Dubai for an ATP 500 event where he suffered an unexpected defeat to a seemingly unknown Russian. However, it was merely a flaw as he bounced back to win back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami. After the Sunshine Double, it was clear as the daylight that his comeback was a real deal and he was there for more.
