Top 5 contenders for No. 1 ranking in Men's Tennis in 2018

#1 Roger Federer

Federer would be back on tour with the start of the grass-court season

There isn't anything new that can be said or written about Roger Federer. The man defines Tennis itself. About four months shy of being 37, he defies all logic and continues to win Grand Slams and was very recently ranked no. 1 on the tour. He continues to revel in any new challenge and is still eager to win a lot more.

With his body not responding to the demands of a year-long tour, Federer's decision to skip the clay court swing last year proved to be a master-stroke as he went on to win the Wimbledon and titles at Shanghai, Basel and Halle. He has already won the Australian Open this year and made it to the finals at Indian Wells, thus replacing Rafael Nadal from the no. 1 spot in the rankings.

An early exit from Miami saw him lose the no. 1 ranking to Nadal again, but a timely break from the tour might be everything that his ageing body needs. He would still be in the top 4 by the time the grass-court season starts and would be pushing with all his strength and experience to win what might be his last Wimbledon trophy.

The real challenge for Federer starts with Wimbledon as he looks to defend a whopping 6000 points, but one should underestimate Federer at their own expense. He faces stiff competition from the younger and older generation alike, and a few bad matches might end his hopes. But such is the aura around him that he is already the favourite of the lot to finish the year as the highest-ranked player for a record-equaling 6th time.