STOCKHOLM (AP)—Roger Federer says when it comes to rankings, it's No. 1 or nothing.
In July, Federer dropped out of the top two for the first time since November 2003. He's now back at No. 2 after finishing runner-up to Andy Murray at the Shanghai Masters over the weekend.
But the 16-time Grand Slam winner said Tuesday that the move made no difference to him.
"It's not that important to be two, three or four," Federer said. "For me it's either No. 1 in the world or everything else. After being No. 1 for so long and having been there it's obviously the best feeling to be there. When you're not ranked No. 1 in the world, you obviously try to get back there."
Federer will face American Taylor Dent on Thursday in his first appearance at the Stockholm Open in 10 years.
"I was supposed to come here two years ago, but I had a really bad back," he said.
Federer held a practice session in front of a crowd on center court at the Royal Tennis Hall, taking time to play a doubles match with some children.
After being No. 1 for so long, some people may have questioned whether Federer still has the hunger to counter Rafael Nadal's dominance. But the Swiss maestro said he still has the drive to play and to win.
"I practice, I play matches and there's always people cheering me on supporting me, wanting an autograph, wanting a picture," Federer said. "That does keep me going. If you put me on the small court with no spectators, this is where I'll struggle with my motivation."
The other players in the top four have threatened Federer's dominance. Top-ranked Nadal has won 14 of their 23 matches, Murray has beaten him in 8 of 13 matches, and Federer leads Novak Djokovic 11-6.
"Maybe in the past I had winning records against everybody," Federer said. "I remember at one stage, I beat 24 top 10 players in a row. Every time I was in a final, I won 24 finals in a row, so obviously you cannot keep up those kinds of streaks. But I was so successful that I suppose I'm being compared to back then, which is very hard to do."
Federer said he's been satisfied with his level of play this year, particularly since Wimbledon.
"I definitely lost some matches that I could have avoided this year," Federer said. "You have to fight back and try to make it not happen so often, and that's what I'm doing. I hope I'm going to be able to turn this thing around."