LONDON – It was at the recent Paris Masters where the tide rose in the blink of an eye for Roger Federer. Just as the world seemed to be steadily growing accustomed to the new normal – that the bitter effects of age became more impossible to ignore with every loss – hope appeared again. There, in both the quarterfinal and semifinal stages, Federer spun into action in two brief yet breathless displays of total tennis.

Along the way though, there was worry. Real worry about the apparent decline in his game. Much of Federer’s performances had showcased a broken shell of a legend who appeared to struggle with every minute aspect of the sport he once ruled with an iron fist: the iconic serve as impotent as it ever had been, the effortlessly smooth movement dissolved into laboured inefficiency, his attempts to storm the net and affect matches with his famed variety, usually ending with a simple passing shot or a hopeless volley into the bottom of the net.

There was even talk of Federer slowly assuming the admirably irrelevant career of Lleyton Hewitt. As the years ticked on, the man who had achieved more in tennis than any other was barely hanging on.

“I don’t think my ego would suffer if one day I was no longer in the top 10,” Federer remarked on the subject during Gstaad. “There’s a moment when the rankings aren’t that important anymore. Honestly, I don’t even know what my current ranking is. Fourth? Fifth? Third? Today, my ranking isn’t that important to me anymore.”

“In terms of rankings at least, Lleyton Hewitt is a great example in my mind,” the Swiss continued. “Whether he’s 170th, 20th or fifth, his ranking isn’t important to him. He just takes a lot of pleasure in playing.”

But then came Paris. Twice, against true opposition in Juan Martin Del Potro and Novak Djokovic, the real thing surfaced in an extravagant exhibition of everything that had been hidden far from display for month after month. The whole ensemble was present: the trademark minute-long statement service games, a perfect collaboration of variety with aggressive baseline play meeting assured volleys, and a cruel mixture of dropshots.

But the quality that was most intriguing was not found in his game. Just as it appeared that his legs were gone, Federer’s attempts to defend his forehand wing (a particularly ineffective sight for much of the year), returned. But this wasn’t the famous Federer movement of old, the effortlessly balletic gliding around the court. Instead, there was something dynamic and frantic. He was sweating, he was toiling and it was punctuated by the constant cheering of a player roaring back to form.

Contrary to popular opinion, Federer has always utilized the “cheer,” drawing on spirited “c’mons” in a multitude of languages at pointed, important moments in an attempt to lodge his presence in the opponents’ heads. Even this was frequent and frantic.

Thus far, the ATP World Tour Finals have seen Federer record his second three-set loss to Djokovic in almost as many days, plus a typically emphatic stroll of a straight set win against Richard Gasquet.

In a year where he has fallen to many, the fractious competition he has provided to Djokovic twice in three days is as encouraging as the victory that was never in doubt for the Serb. Just don’t tell Federer that.

“Let's see it that way,” was his facetiously sarcastic response to an unfortunate soul who brought it up. “Great, we're positive.  It was great to win two sets off Novak, and losing four. Losing a match, it's really exciting.”

So, here we are. With Djokovic’s victory over Del Potro, it won’t be the first time Federer will engage with the Argentine in a final match shootout. The winner will take all with a spot in the semifinals, but although the Swiss will think otherwise, it may just be that the final result is irrelevant. More importantly, this vision of hope after a season of hopelessness has ushered in new possibilities and brightened a desolate landscape.

While the others are trawling the exhibition circuit in pursuit of dollars they don’t need, Federer has asserted that all the offseason holds for him is the opportunity to rest before single-mindedly throwing himself into preparation for another new season. If he can improve and build on the sturdy base created in recent weeks, the turn of the year may well represent a turn in fortunes for history’s world number one.