Roger Federer has settled down with all that the season of 2018 had to offer. As the Nitto ATP Finals is done and dusted with Federer's conqueror reigning supreme, the story of this year has been wrapped up for good.

For the second year in a row, Roger Federer came up short as he saw his path terminated after the semi-final stages at the O2 Arena in London. But the one thing Federer does best is his ability to press the reset button minutes after being forced to swallow a heavy loss. The season of 2019 is less than two months ahead, which means new opportunities will be up for grab as Roger Federer seeks that elusive 100th ATP title of his professional career.

According to the ATP official website, Federer will end the year as the third-ranked player in the world which is not bad at all for a guy who's been in the zone for two decades now.

For the time being, he will chance to spend some extended quality time with his family. Then, he will submerge himself into the off-season build up segment, that part of the training period most top Tennis players are usually paying great attention to.

Early stages of 2019 to follow a familiar path

Regarding Roger Federer's schedule for 2019, we know a thing or two for certain. Roger Federer will start his 2019 campaign by attending the Hopman Cup, a mixed exhibition event held in Perth, Australia.

For 2019, Roger Federer won't be alone in the superstars' pit as Serena Williams will attend the event too.

As far as we know, this event will be Roger Federer's sole warm-up before heading to Melbourne for the 2019 Australian Open. The reigning champion of the last two editions, Federer seeks to unlock the seventh title there.

Moving a bit deeper into the season, the hard court fest will continue as Federer might go either in Dubai or Rotterdam, Earlier this year, he went for the Dutch-based ATP 500 event.

At the end of what was a remarkable week, Roger Federer became the oldest tennis player to hold the No. 1 seat.

As the season progresses, the Sunshine Double will arrive with Indian Wells and Miami on the radar. The last two seasons saw Federer playing in both locations. Let's see if that tradition will go on in 2019 too.

The clay court debate and how it can impact Federer's schedule

According to Forbes.com, Roger Federer is yet to make a decision on whether or not he will attend the clay court season in 2019. According to his statement, the decision will be taken in the next few weeks.

Although it may seem a side issue, the decision to play or not during the clay season might impact the rest of the schedule too. If he goes for a clay court bid, some events may be cut off of the 2019 schedule.

The second part of the 2019 season includes the whole grass court season, the US Open Series and the indoor sessions that end up with the Nitto ATP Finals.

Therefore, Roger Federer's schedule for the second part of 2019 hangs pretty much in the balance. It may all depend on Federer's willingness or not to get his socks dirty on the European red clay.