As a tennis regular supporter, having Roger Federer at the top of the ranking in 2018 is similar to giving life to one of the biggest fantasies. Closer to 40 rather than 30, the Swiss tennis superstar has made quite a statement.

With two ATP titles under his belt in 2018 already, and a 20 Grand Slam harvest overall, the current world No. 1 is heading to the desert ground of California to open his bid for another Indian Wells title. Should he succeed in his quest, Roger Federer will retain the current spot throughout the clay court swing too. Rafael Nadal will skip the Sunshine Double to focus on the European season on clay.

Roger Federer seeks his sixth success at Indian Wells

Roger Federer received a bye for the round of 128. That's one of the perks of being a high-ranked player. He will open his defending campaign against Federico Delbonis (67 ATP). The Argentine skidded past Ryan Harrison (54 ATP) in three sets. It might seem a bit strange, but Delbonis actually leads Federer by 1-0 in head to head stats after winning a clay court encounter in Hamburg back in 2013.

Roger Federer leads the upper half of the men's draw with Dominic Thiem and Tomas Berdych looming for an interesting quarterfinals matchup. Otherwise, Filip Krajinovic and Fabio Fognini may put him to an early test. Should Federer bow out before the semis, Rafael Nadal will replace him at the top of the rankings.

Indian Wells is another big test for Federer who is yet to know the taste of defeat in 2018. David Goffin is the last one who managed to apply something of a correction at the Nitto ATP Finals in London. If Federer wins another Indian Wells, his schedule may suffer some changes. Back in 2017, he made a bold decision by choosing to compete at Miami.

It was the rather unexpected momentum he was willing to ride. Now, a success in California might alter plans as he went for an extended schedule by playing at Rotterdam.

Should Federer skip past Miami, clay court schedule may emerge

It's been quite a debate regarding Federer and a potential clay court calendar for 2018. If he secures the No.

1 spot at Indian Wells and Miami is no longer be a target, a short clay court schedule is likely to occur. Federer could go after his first title in Rome or even try a greater goal at the 2018 French Open.

Having Federer competing on clay would be a wonderful thing given the rarity of the fact. It's been almost two years since Federer put his feet on a clay court event in what was a match against the current world No. 6 Dominic Thiem (the Austrian was ranked 15th at the time).