Surprise surprise!

There was an ongoing discussion if Roger Federer would have accepted a wildcard to compete in Dubai to chase the world no.1. In fact, Roger is just 155pts away from surpassing Rafael Nadal and regaining the top rank (see rankings), and a good run in the Emirates would have allowed him to get back to be the world no.1.

How Federer will be world no.1

Roger surprised everyone after accepting a wildcard in Rotterdam (an ATP500) that will be played 1 week before Dubai and where he has no points to defend. That means that if he reaches the semifinal, he will get 180pts to surpass Nadal for the top spot.

If Roger manages to reach the final 4, he will be the oldest tennis player in history to be a world no.1 The record is currently held by Andre Agassi that got back to the top of the rankings when he was 33 years old (Federer is 36).

Federer taking a late wildcard into Rotterdam in a surprise attempt to time trial to the #1 ranking is the true meaning of sabr.

— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) February 7, 2018

The tournament

This edition of the ATP500 in Rotterdam is pretty packed with strong players such as Dimitrov, Zverev, Goffin, Wawrinka, Tsonga, Berdych and Kyrgios. Therefore, Roger is expected to face “just 1” tough match in the quarters to achieve his goal.

From Roger

Roger has won the title in Rotterdam in 2005 and 2012 (see titles). The Swiss legend commented “The tournament is special for me, I remember playing for the first time in 1999 as it was one of the first events where I got the chance to play at the highest level. It feels good to join in the celebrations of the 45th edition.”

This is going to be really exciting.