'I've had more romantic Valentine Days' jokes Federer as he rues V-day blues

Roger Federer has revealed how he had to spend Valentine's Day alone as his family decided to stay back in Switzerland. The Swiss ace played Ruben Bemelmans on Wednesday (14 February), dismantling him in straight sets, 6-1 6-2, in a game which lasted just 46 minutes.

Federer needs to make it to the semi-finals of the Rotterdam Open to reach the top of the ATP rankings, trumping Rafael Nadal in the process. The Spaniard does not play until the Mexico Open, allowing Federer to grab the opportunity if he can hold his form.

Returning to world number one for the first time since October 2012 would see Federer, who has already spent 302 weeks as the main man in the sport, add further gloss to an already glittering career. The Swiss ace is gunning to become the oldest World No 1 eclipsing Andre Agassi's record. Agassi was 33 years old when he became the top ranked player in 2003.

The 36-year-old was not particularly happy for his family, wife and four kids, to not be with him at Rotterdam, but joked that he had a pleasant outing playing Bemelmans on court. Federer went on to defeat Philipp Kohlschreiber in the next round and is only a win away from recapturing his number one spot.

"I don't love it but it's all good. And it's Valentine Day as well. It was romantic with Bemelmans on court today... I've had more romantic Valentine Days, I tell you!" Federer said, as quoted by Tennis World USA.

Meanwhile, Federer has attributed his success to his team, who have helped him more than ever to reach this stage, where he is so close to becoming the world number one, having only just emerged from winning his 20th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

"I think it will be unbelievable for my team, you know," Federer said, as quoted by the Express. "Maybe more so than for myself personally, but a lot of guys have put in so much work over the last decade and so forth.

"For all my coaches for that matter, you know, that I was able to stay motivated and keep going for as long as I have and then to reward everybody along the way with maybe a world number one would be very special, regardless of whether I make it or not."