Roger Federer’s bid to become the oldest world No. 1 in ATP Tour history at the end of this week will begin on Wednesday at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. Federer and Ruben Bemelmans will kick off the night session with their first-ever head-to-head showdown.
The 36-year-old maintained his point total in the ATP rankings by successfully defending his title at the Australian Open last month. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, fell in the quarterfinals (retired in the fifth set against Marin Cilic) after finishing runner-up to Federer in 2017. Thus the gap dwindled to just 155 points, which means the Swiss needs only a semifinal performance (180 points) at the 500-point tournament in Rotterdam in order to reclaim the top spot next Monday.
Federer has not been No. 1 since November of 2012. If the 20-time major champion accomplishes the feat, he will surpass Andre Agassi (33 years old) as the oldest-ever top-ranked player on the ATP Tour.
“After the Australian Open was over, I thought I’d love to play Rotterdam and give it a go,” Federer explained. “Our team is very excited, that I‘m here and that I will give it a go. You have to do it, not because it’s the right thing to do, but you have to be here with all your heart and really go for it. (I’ll) try my very best. Having the option of getting to No. 1 is highly motivating and very exciting to say the least.”
This week’s No. 1 seed is 23-6 lifetime in eight previous Rotterdam efforts. He captured the title in 2005 (beat his current coach, Ivan Ljubicic, in the the final) and again in his next appearance in 2012 following a six-year absence. Federer last played the ABN AMRO in 2013, falling to Julien Benneteau in the quarterfinals.
“The tournament is special for me,” he assured. “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.”
Bemelmans, meanwhile, earned his spot in this matchup thanks to a successful qualification run that saw him defeat Denis Istomin and Tim Van Rijthoven in straight sets. The 116th-ranked Belgian is a decent 3-3 at the ATP level this season with a second-round Australian Open performance as a qualifier, an impressive Davis Cup victory over Marton Fucsovics, and a second-round finish last week on the indoor hard courts of Montpellier.
Of course, nothing suggests Bemelmans is capable of producing the kind of tennis that will trouble a red-hot (and soon-to-be world No. 1?) Federer.
Pick: Federer in 2 losing 5-7 games
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