Paris Masters: Federer looking to wrestle top spot from Djokovic
Swiss tennis star less than 500 points behind current world number one
PARIS:
Roger Federer is taking his battle with Novak Djokovic for the world number one spot down to the wire as he arrives at the Paris Masters, which began on Monday, as the hottest player on Tour.
The 17-time grand slam winner won his 82nd career tournament and sixth title at Basel on Sunday, extending his winning streak to 12 matches and his record for the year to a Tour best of 66 wins and 10 defeats.
Djokovic has been absent in recent weeks after his wife gave birth to their first child, while his lead over Federer has been slashed to fewer than 500 points, with 2,500 up for grabs at Paris and the season-ending World Tour Finals in London.
"It would be very special to reclaim number one," said Federer. "World number one is what it's all about in our game and with the year I have had, the amount of finals I have played in and the level of tennis I have played, I am pleased to see that I have a shot.
"But having a shot and being there are two separate things. I’m sure Djokovic is going to come in very motivated.”
World number three Rafael Nadal is out for the season as he gets set to have an appendix operation, while Swiss number two Stan Wawrinka is guaranteed his place in London and Croat Marin Cilic, ranked seven, qualifies automatically as US Open champion.
British two-time grand slam winner Andy Murray has also hit top form coming into Paris and defeated Spaniard Tommy Robredo on Sunday.
The victory for the 27-year-old Scot lifted him into fifth in the race to London, ahead of Japan's Kei Nishikori, Czech Republic's Thomas Berdych and Spain’s David Ferrer.
Canada's Milos Raonic, a beaten quarter-finalist against rising Belgian star David Goffin at Basel, needs a strong showing coming in at 10, while Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov is also in the running, starting the week at number 11.
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Roger Federer is taking his battle with Novak Djokovic for the world number one spot down to the wire as he arrives at the Paris Masters, which began on Monday, as the hottest player on Tour.
The 17-time grand slam winner won his 82nd career tournament and sixth title at Basel on Sunday, extending his winning streak to 12 matches and his record for the year to a Tour best of 66 wins and 10 defeats.
Djokovic has been absent in recent weeks after his wife gave birth to their first child, while his lead over Federer has been slashed to fewer than 500 points, with 2,500 up for grabs at Paris and the season-ending World Tour Finals in London.
"It would be very special to reclaim number one," said Federer. "World number one is what it's all about in our game and with the year I have had, the amount of finals I have played in and the level of tennis I have played, I am pleased to see that I have a shot.
"But having a shot and being there are two separate things. I’m sure Djokovic is going to come in very motivated.”
World number three Rafael Nadal is out for the season as he gets set to have an appendix operation, while Swiss number two Stan Wawrinka is guaranteed his place in London and Croat Marin Cilic, ranked seven, qualifies automatically as US Open champion.
British two-time grand slam winner Andy Murray has also hit top form coming into Paris and defeated Spaniard Tommy Robredo on Sunday.
The victory for the 27-year-old Scot lifted him into fifth in the race to London, ahead of Japan's Kei Nishikori, Czech Republic's Thomas Berdych and Spain’s David Ferrer.
Canada's Milos Raonic, a beaten quarter-finalist against rising Belgian star David Goffin at Basel, needs a strong showing coming in at 10, while Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov is also in the running, starting the week at number 11.
Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.