Federer reiterates stance on chasing Nadal's No1 ranking while hinting at late schedule change

Roger Federer has reiterated that chasing Rafael Nadal's number one ranking is not his main priority going into the final events of the season while hinting that he could skip the Paris Masters to concentrate on winning the ATP Finals title in London in November.

The Swiss ace is currently preparing to begin his campaign at the Swiss Indoors in Basel and with Nadal skipping the event, Federer can reduce the deficit in the ATP rankings by 500-points if he wins the event. Federer, the world number two, is currently 1960-points behind the Spaniard in the rankings and can finish top of the pile if results go his way.

If the 36-year-old captures the title at Basel and Paris, the top two ranked players will go into the ATP Finals in London in a winner takes all battle for the year-end number one ranking. Federer, however, is not interested in chasing the ranking, which he believes is a long shot and is putting his focus on winning the tournament in his hometown this week and then turn his attention to winning a seventh ATP Finals title in London.

The 19-time men's singles Grand Slam champion is expected to play in Paris but ignored it when he spoke of his desire to win in Basel and London. It could be that he skips the final Masters Series event of 2017 to focus on the season-ending tournament in the English capital, which has been referred to as the fifth major by a number of players.

"This goal has no priority because it is too far away. I understand that people ask me about it. But it would be a mistake if I were to think about it all the time. I do not play for that," Federer said about chasing the number one ranking, as quoted by the Express.

"I want to win here because it's Basel, and in London because it's the World Tour Finals.

"But even in this case, the chance would be small that I would be number one. I try to have fun, play well, and then see what happens," he added.