Roger Federer returns to the ATP Tour after a six-week hiatus in his home city of Basle tonight, having taken a decision designed to preserve his dominance over the sport well into his thirties.

Federer, the 28-year-old world No 1, has appointed Stéphane Vivier, one of seven ATP physiotherapists, to travel with him full time to make sure that he is in the finest physical shape every time he plays. If anything was certain to nail the suggestion that Federer is thinking of slowing down after winning 15 grand-slam singles titles — and reaching a record-breaking 22 consecutive semi-finals — this has to be it.

Although he is one of the fittest men and most graceful movers in the game, Federer is aware that only by sustaining his excellent shape can he see off the challenges presented to him by the young titans of the game, Rafael Nadal, 23, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, both 22, and Juan Martín del Potro, the 21-year-old Argentinian who defeated him in the US Open final in September.

Federer’s comeback this evening — he will play a qualifier in the first round of the Davidoff Swiss Indoors — gives him the prospect of a fortnight of high-density tennis before he spearheads the talent pageant at the inaugural Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the 02 arena, southeast London, from Sunday, November 22. Federer is one of the six players who have qualified for the finals and ten are in pursuit of the last two spots. The favourites are Nikolay Davydenko, of Russia, and Fernando Verdasco, of Spain, both competing with Murray in the Valencia Open this week.

Like Andy Roddick, who snapped up Doug Spreen, a former full-time ATP trainer, to work with him on a private basis three years ago, Federer is placing his faith in someone whose responsibility has been to treat every player at his respective tournament.

Federer has an enormous amount of respect for Vivier, a Frenchman, going so far as to say that the physio knows how his body works even better than he does himself. Remarkably, although Severin Luthi, the Swiss Davis Cup captain, travels on an occasional basis with Federer, the world No 1 still has no permanent coach.

At the start of this year, the Swiss had a problem with his lower back that, he insists, contributed to his inability to be properly prepared for the Australian Open, where he was beaten in a tumultous five-set final by Nadal. Having someone of Vivier’s expertise at his beck and call is exactly what he requires to maintain his levels through the increasingly arduous demands of the men’s game.

As president of the ATP Player Council, Federer has been working assiduously behind the scenes on trying to establish a tour calendar that takes better account of the demands on the players — nine of whom were forced to retire at various stages during the most recent Masters event in Shanghai — while keeping as many tournament directors as possible happy with the composition and quality of their fields.

Should he help to establish a fairer set of working conditions for the future of tennis, he will have done almost as much to keep the sport alive off the court as he has by winning tournament after tournament on it.

Federer has won in Basle for the past three years and is completely refreshed, having not played since the middle of September, when he helped to secure Switzerland’s World Group status in the Davis Cup for 2010. In the first round of that championship next year, they will meet Spain, which offers the intoxicating prospect of the Swiss playing Nadal in the tournament for the first time.

Much of his time away from the circuit recently has been spent bonding with his now three-month-old twin daughters, Charlene and Myla.