• BNP Paribas Open

Confident Federer fires warning to rivals

Roger Federer sets up for a volley © Getty Images

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Ahead of the first Masters event of the season, Roger Federer has warned his rivals he is "feeling great" as he looks to claim a third successive title in 2012 at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

Federer, a three-time champion in California, opens his campaign against either Dmitry Tursunov or Denis Kudla, bidding to regain the title he last won in 2006.

The 16-time grand slam champion suffered a surprise defeat to Andy Roddick at a New York exhibition event on Monday, but with 32 wins from his last 34 competitive matches and back-to-back titles in Rotterdam and Dubai, Federer is feeling confident, fit and firing on all cylinders.

"I've been feeling good for some time now," Federer told the ATP official website. "I actually came out feeling better at the end of Dubai than I felt at the end of Rotterdam.

"It's a good thing looking ahead. I just played Madison Square Garden, and now I play here and Miami too. It's a tough stretch, but I feel great. I'm playing well at the moment, since many months now."

While in his younger days Federer preferred the hustle and bustle of tournaments in New York and Miami, the 30-year-old father-of-two admits he has grown to appreciate the relative tranquillity of Indian Wells.

"It's a tournament that I've grown to love a lot over the years," Federer said. "I used to like coming here, but I wasn't a crazy golfer when I was younger or liked the peace and calmness. I was more a guy who liked New York or Miami or sort of places where something was happening, especially as a teenager, so when I came here it was almost a bit too quiet for me.

"As time went by, I like these weeks where it's a bit more calm, weather's nice, things slow down a bit before the hustle and bustle in other places. Obviously with the success that I've had, I started to spend more time here. I got to like it a lot. It's a good place."

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