Roger Federer is enjoying a successful season so far.

The Swiss began the year at 16th in the ATP ranking, but a return to health and form saw him rise to second place.

Federer won two Grand Slam titles at Australian Open and Wimbledon respectively, and with both Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic bothered by injuries, the path was clear for a top spot return.

We have to go back to November 2012 for the last time Federer was at the No 1 place, and this year appeared as a good chance for him to reclaim it.

However, "The Maestro" has revealed he gave up hope of reclaiming the crown after Rafael Nadal won the US Open.

Nadal has proved impossible to overtake, and after winning the French Open, the Spanaird cemented his No 1 place with a trophy at the US Open.

Federer, however, refuses to be disappointed, and is instead focusing on being happy to be fit and winning at his age.

"When I lost in the US Open, I thought to myself it is not realistic that I would end up first in the rankings because I would need to win Shanghai, Basil, Bercy, and the Masters, while on top of that, you have Rafa playing well and he will get results like he is doing," he said.

"The objective for this year is to be fit and I am very happy with the results.

“From now until the end of the year I will try to win one or more tournaments."

Federer will have his next chance this week, when both him and Nadal will compete at the Shanghai Masters.

But, while Roger had a break and visited Japan, Rafa participated and won the China Open last week.

Considering this, Federer expects his rival to be a top contender for the Shanghai title too.

"Rafa has always played well on hard courts and he did very well at the Australian Open," Federer explained.

“The problem is that he has won 10 times at Roland Garros and so it appears that his results on hard court aren't so great, which is not the case.

"I thought that he would not go to Beijing. Why? He had no need to go to Asia and push his body to the limit but Rafa is Rafa and a real professional."

Nadal is about to kick off against Jared Donaldson (ranked 56th), while Federer will have to deal with 26th Diego Schwartzman at the bottom of the draw.

Both clashes are scheduled for tomorrow.