Roger Federer has surprised again after deciding to accept a wildcard to play the ATP500 in Rotterdam. At 36 years of age, the Swiss legend needs to reach the semifinals in the Netherlands to become the oldest tennis player in history to be ranked world no.1.
Federer had a fantastic draw in Rotterdam to face a qualifier in the 1st round before facing either Khachanov (ranked no.49) or Kohlschreiber (no35).
Wawrinka
At that point, Roger would be only 1 step away from the semifinals and the top ranking and interesting enough he is projected to play the quarters against his compatriot and friend Stan Wawrinka.
Now ranked no.15 Stan is coming back from a knee operation, and he is currently in the semifinals in the AP250 in Sofia; the good news for Roger is that it will be improbable that Stan will be fully fit if he plays back to back in Bulgaria and Rotterdam. In addition, Roger has a remarkable 20-3 record against Stan (5-0 on indoor courts), and the world no.2 has lost to Wawrinka only on clay courts.
If Roger gets to the semifinals, he will face either Sascha Zverev or Tsonga. Federer has won the tournament already in 2005 and 2012, but if he reaches the semifinals, it would be already “mission accomplished.”
Here the draw.
| VERY CLOSE TO NO.1 |
| Embed from Getty Images |
