Roger Federer might be in the last stage of his professional career but that doesn't necessarily mean that his swan song is going to be a regular one. After all, almost nothing about this player can be labeled as normal or regular. Less than two weeks after he captured a record 20th Grand Slam singles title, the 36-year-old from the alpine country of Switzerland is determined to make a short detour for an ATP 500 indoor event in Rotterdam.

After his successful campaign to defend the title in Melbourne, the general opinion was that Federer would step back for a while in order to resume his schedule at Indian Wells.

Last year, he tested the waters in Dubai but suffered an early defeat. Now, he seems to have changed strategy as h's just accepted a wild-card for the ATP event in Rotterdam. It's a familiar territory for Federer who won this event two times in the past (2005, 2012).

Roger Federer will headline this ATP 500 indoor hard event

Held between February 12-18, ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament will see Federer making his ninth appearance on Dutch soil. Six years after his second success here, Federer seems to have set his aim on that world No. 1 seat.

Taking a last-minute wildcard won't affect Federer's status as the top seed of the event. Currently ranked second in the world, he has a real shot at returning to the ATP summit more than five years after his last sojourn there.

At the moment, Rafael Nadal is the highest ranked player, but he only has a 155 point lead over Roger Federer. Since Nadal won't be back on the tennis court earlier than late February, Federer can become the oldest player to hold the No. 1 seat.

Andre Agassi currently holds the record as the former American tennis player made his last world No.

1 stay at the age of 33.

Rotterdam comes with an interesting draw

Federer's bid for the ATP summit won't be a walk in the park-like as the field is packed with high-profile names. Stan Wawrinka, Grigor Dimitrov, Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios, the local Robin Haase and the young Russian hope Andrey Rublev, are all set to put in some high-quality tennis.

Choosing to play Rotterdam means that Federer will most likely ditch the ATP 500 event in Dubai. Judging by the overall conditions, it seems like a better choice to go for Rotterdam. If there is one thing we know for certain about Federer is that he loves competing in indoor conditions.

Now, with the world No. 1 seat also at stake, all of the sudden, February's calendar provides us with some unexpected drama. And, once again, Federer will be sitting at the center of the entire affair.
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