Roger Federer will be adjusting his tournament schedule in October as he goes along, having decided to play Shanghai this week.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion is also scheduled to play his hometown event in Basel, the Paris Masters, the ATP World Tour Finals and the Davis Cup Final. But, he said, things are "in the air" depending on how he does at the events.
Federer, who is required to play every Masters event because of his veteran status, has little company this week on the long trip to China. His wife and kids have stayed behind, and physio Stephane Vivier had previously left his team.
The world No. 3 was on vacation before the tournament, saying, "It would be very easy to skip this here because the family didn't travel with me. It's [one] tournament for me to travel [here] and back.
"I am emotionally attached to this event. I did open the stadium here in 2004. I was here when the [now-renamed ATP World Tour Finals] was here in 2002. I said, 'Let me play Shanghai and see.'"
Federer will instead look at how many matches he plays and potentially withdraw from an event, with the Paris Masters the most likely to be lopped from his schedule.
"There might still be some adjustments to my schedule moving forward. I definitely need to play well for that to happen. If I don't play well, I guess I can also play everything," he said.
Federer could reach No. 2 with a good performance in Shanghai.