Roger Federer is eyeing a seventh ATP Finals crown and has not ruled out pinching the world number one ranking from Rafa Nadal if he maintains the form that won him his second Shanghai Masters trophy on Sunday.
The 19-times grand slam winner claimed his 94th title and sixth this year with an emphatic defeat of Nadal in the Shanghai final and is hungry for a first ATP Finals win since 2011.
“London is my priority now and I really want to win the World Tour Finals,” the evergreen 36-year-old told Sky Sports. “I am very excited to have had the year that I have had and everything that comes from here is a bonus.
“Finishing the year as world number one is a long shot, and I don’t think it will happen but if I play like this, who knows? Maybe I will get close again.”
Shangai was Federer’s first tournament since the US Open and the confidence he gained from his opening matches helped him through a taxing schedule.
“It’s been a tough week, five straight matches is always a test and a challenge for anybody’s body, especially with the pressure rising,” he said.
“I felt I was playing well all week and that settled my nerves because I was returning well from the (opening) match here against (Diego) Schwartzman.
“The serve only got better and I saved the best for last... In a way, not surprising because I felt good all week – I was ready.”
Federer extended his lead on the ‘Big Titles’ scoreboard over rivals Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal by beating the Spanish left-hander to earn his second title at the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Sunday.
In taking down his longtime rival, Nadal, Federer captured his fifth ‘Big Title’ of the season, winning two Grand Slams at the Australian Open and Wimbledon as well as earning an ATP World Tour-leading third Masters 1000 trophy. The first two came at the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open presented by Itau.
The Swiss upped his total of ‘Big Titles’ — a combination of Grand Slams, Masters 1000 events and Nitto ATP Finals — to 52, five ahead of Djokovic’s 47 and six in front of Nadal’s 46.
The battle for ‘Big Title’ supremacy remains intense, as Djokovic continues to hold the record for best conversion rate, winning one ‘Big Title’ every 3.4 events, with Nadal close behind at 3.5. Federer has won an average of one title per 4.1 tournaments. But with his victory in Shanghai, the 36 year old moved closer to Nadal and Djokovic’s record of 30 Masters 1000 victories with his 27th title.
He can move closer to their mark in two weeks at the final Masters 1000 tournament of 2017, the Rolex Paris Masters.
The Swiss next headlines his home Basel International starting October 21.

ATP Top 5
1. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 10,465 pts
2. Roger Federer (SUI) 8,505
3. Andy Murray (GBR) 5,290
4. Marin Cilic (CRO) 4,505 (+1)
5. Alexander Zverev (GER) 4,400
Sharapova shoots up
rankings after Tianjin win
Maria Sharapova has shot up the women’s world rankings following her victory in Tianjin on Sunday, rising 29 places to 57th in the latest WTA list.
The 30-year-old former world number one triumphed 7-5, 7-6 (10/8) against teenager Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus to claim her first title since serving a 15-month doping ban. Sharapova will hope to build on that victory this week in Moscow after being handed a wildcard for the Kremlin Cup.
The top 10 remains unchanged, with Romania’s Simona Halep on top ahead of Spain’s Garbine Muguruza. Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova climbs three places to 18th after beating Daria Gavrilova in the Hong Kong Open final at the weekend.
Czech Barbora Strycova, winner of her second WTA Tour title in Linz on Sunday, climbs just one place to 25th.

WTA Top 5
1. Simona Halep (ROU) 6,175 pts
2. Garbine Muguruza (ESP) 6,135
3. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 5,605
4. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 5,465
5. Venus Williams (USA) 4,642