Can Roger Federer repeat his 2017 success in the year 2018?

Roger Federer's fans watched in dismay as he was beaten not once but twice by Novak Djokovic at the Wimbledon finals - in 2014 and 2015 - and again by Djokovic in the 2015 US Open final.

After those three losses, many thought that they would never see the historic 8th Wimbledon title from Federer, or anyone else for that matter. And when Federer lost to Milos Raonic in the 2016 Wimbledon semifinals, many more thought that Federer would never win another Grand Slam.

It was at that juncture that Federer announced he would take the rest of 2016 off to recover from his injured knee. With his form faltering and his body aging, not many fancied his chances on his return in 2017.

But what a turnaround this year has been. The Swiss Maestro surprised the world by not only winning the Australian Open but also beating his great rival Rafael Nadal in the process, that too after being a break down in the fifth and final set. Federer fans would never have been happier to be proven wrong about him not winning another Grand Slam.

Federer won a total of seven titles in 2017 and defeated Nadal four times in the year (three of them in finals). He also fulfilled every fan's dream by winning an 8th Wimbledon title, that too without losing a set.

The only blips in an otherwise stellar year were his defeats at Dubai and Stuttgart after holding match points. Yes, he did lose at the Canadian Open, the US Open and the ATP Finals too, but there was nothing much he could have done in those matches considering how well his opponents were playing.

All in all it was a great year, statistically his best since 2007. He won seven titles out of the 12 he entered, and two Grand Slams out of the three he contested.

Can he repeat all this in 2018?

The practical and reasonable answer is: "No". In 2017, he was helped by the fact that Djokovic and Andy Murray were carrying injuries, which made them pack it in early for the year. This was also the case for Stan Wawrinka, Raonic and Kei Nishikori, who have all troubled Federer in recent years.

But everyone is fit now, and they will be back and raring to go in 2018. Can Djokovic and Murray reach the same levels as before? Maybe not, but will have to wait and watch.

The Swiss Ace is in his 37th year and will go into the 38th in 2018. Age will play a huge factor in his schedule, and his success will largely depend on his health.

In 2017 he skipped the entire clay court season to preserve his longevity, and yet he still suffed a back injury during the Montreal final. That setback forced him to skip the Cincinnati Masters and partially derailed his US Open campaign, where he couldn't quite play freely against a rampaging Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals.

Health concerns also led him to skip the Paris Masters, and he looked fatigued at the ATP Finals before bowing out in the semis.

Can Federer continue defying age to remain fit and fresh in 2018? If he does, he will certainly be among the title contenders at every event he plays. But if there are any more injury concerns, another double-Slam year might might be too far-fetched a dream.