Roger Federer to play at ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam

Roger Federer has signed up to play at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam next week where he could be crowned world No 1, live on Sky Sports.

Federer successfully retained his Australian Open crown with a five-set victory over Marin Cilic last month to find himself just 155 points behind top-ranked Rafael Nadal.

But with the Spaniard not scheduled to play until the end of February in Acapulco the door has opened for the 36-year-old to become the oldest-ever world No 1 with a run to the semi-finals enough to see him overtake his long-time rival at the 500 event.

"The tournament is special for me," Federer, a two-time winner in Rotterdam, said. "I remember playing for the first time in 1999 as it was one of the first events where I got the chance to play at the highest level.

"It feels good to join in the celebrations of the 45th edition."

Tournament director Richard Krajicek is "thrilled" by the news Federer will be competing in a strong field, as he joins compatriot Stan Wawrinka, world No 4 Grigor Dimitrov, Alexander Zverev and defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the draw.

"After his fantastic result at the Australian Open, it is tremendous news that he will be joining us in Rotterdam. It is a crown to the celebration of the history of our tournament," said former Wimbledon champion, Krajicek.

Federer holds the record both for the most time spent at No 1 (302 weeks) and the longest consecutive run at No 1 (237 weeks) while the Swiss great would also surpass Andre Agassi's record as the oldest top-ranked men's player in history since achieving the feat aged 33 years and 131 days in 2003 by more than three years.

Watch the ATP ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam live on Sky Sports Main Event & Arena from Monday, February 12.

We will be covering the ATP ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Rio Open, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, and ATP 500 Acapulco in February on www.skysports.com/tennis with news, previews, live blogs, reports and expert analysis.