Roger Federer's season is still fully loaded with Davis Cup and world No 1 up for grabs

Not for Roger Federer the mad dash around Europe that Andy Murray is embarking on in order to qualify for next month's year-end festivities at London's O2 Arena.

The Swiss master has long since qualified for the eight-man field, and while the 27 year-old Scot makes his late entry into this week's Vienna Open the question is whether, at 33, Federer can finish the season as world number one.

Sunday's new rankings saw him back at number two ahead of Rafael Nadal and, based purely on points won in 2014, within one thousand points – potentially a week's work – behind Novak Djokovic.

Roger Federer lets out a roar as the 33-year-old won his first Shanghai title on Sunday against Gilles Simon

 

As Federer reflected following his victory at the Shanghai Open on Sunday: 'Usually everything slows down at the end of the season. Not for me this time.'

He was also referring to the fact that, following the Barclays ATP World Finals in London next month, he will play for Switzerland in this year's Davis Cup final, the only significant prize in tennis he has yet to win but which is now possible with Stan Wawrinka as his team-mate.

Two variable factors are involved in this late season drama for Federer. One surrounds whether he will have the energy to carry it all off, as although he is off this week he is due to play in Basle, Paris and London before the Davis Cup.

Federer kisses the trophy after winning the Shanghai Masters ahead of a busy end-of-season period

Confetti rains down as Federer receives his trophy in front of a capacity crowd at the Qizhong Tennis Stadium

The other, specifically relating to the ranking situation, is whether Djokovic will turn up in both Paris and London, which are the two remaining fixtures carrying heavy ranking rewards.

His wife Jelena is due to give birth sometime next month (he has kept the due date secret), and that could affect his participation in at least one of those.

Murray will play in Vienna, Valencia and Paris, making it six weeks' worth of consecutive tournaments as he tries to make it back into the world's top eight.

Assuming everyone is fit and present in London, Murray is effectively battling five others players – Kei Nishikori, Tomas Berdych, Milos Raonic, David Ferrer and Grigor Dimitrov – for three places at the 02 from his current standing of tenth.

Andy Murray is desperate to qualify for the World Tour Finals and is playing six tournaments in a row

Four have already qualified (Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Wawrinka) while world number six Marin Cilic is a certainty due to an obscure rule that makes it easier for the season's Grand Slam winners to get in.

The tennis season sometimes has a humdrum feel in October, but the fact that the spoils have been shared more evenly among the men this year has injected life into both the 'Race To London' and for the world number one position.

It has led Murray to completely change his tune from what he said at the US Open, where he insisted that he would not overplay to try and make the field for London.

The women's season-end finals, which take place next week in Singapore, had its field set relatively early, although there is a chance Maria Sharapova could overtake Serena Williams as world number one, especially as the American has been troubled by a knee injury.