Roger Federer has London on his mind as he returns to action for the first time since his US Open disappointment.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion won his first-round doubles match with China’s Zhang Ze at the Shanghai Masters and will play either Lleyton Hewitt or Andreas Seppi in his first singles match.
This has traditionally been a very successful time of year for Federer, and he will need it to be so again if he is to qualify for the end-of-season Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena.
The 32-year-old said: “It was the goal at the beginning of the season to qualify for (London).
“I consider it the absolute best-of-the-best tournament out there, so I want to be part of that. It’s extra motivation for me to play well and be part of that great tournament.”
Federer has won the eight-man tournament a record six times, including twice in London, but his place is by no means guaranteed even if Andy Murray, as expected, pulls out following back surgery.
Federer is seventh in the standings but Stanislas Wawrinka, Richard Gasquet, Milos Raonic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are not far behind.
It has been Federer’s worst season in more than a decade, with his most recent disappointing loss coming in the fourth round of the US Open when he was beaten in straight sets by Tommy Robredo.
Federer, though, is encouraged by how he has been playing in practice since and is already optimistic about what he can achieve in 2014.
“It has been a bit of a rocky patch the last couple of months but my expectations will always remain very high. That will never change.”
Rain meant play was limited to the centre court under the roof, and John Isner had to fight back from a set down to defeat qualifier Santiago Giraldo 4-6 7-5 7-5.
Eleventh seed Tommy Haas defeated Sam Querrey 6-4 6-4 while Frenchman Gael Monfils saw off Tatsuma Ito 6-3 6-2.
Janko Tipsarevic, meanwhile, missed out on a second-round meeting with compatriot Novak Djokovic, losing 6-4 6-4 to Spain’s Marcel Granollers.