Last Updated: Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:16
Roger Federer fired an ominous warning to his Pacific Life Open rivals by breezing past Nicolas Mahut 6-1 6-1 in the third round.
A bout of glandular fever has restricted the Swiss star to just two tournament appearances so far this season but he showed no rustiness as he fired nine aces to sweep past his French opponent.
Federer won at Indian Wells for three years in a row from 2004 but suffered a shock quarter-final defeat at the hands of Guillermo Canas last year.
He said he was hoping to build up his match fitness and make more progress at the expense of Ivan Ljubicic next time out.
"I enjoy matches like this," said Federer after his win over Mahut.
"Having the sensation like I had towards the end of the second set when you feel everything's going your way, you've got his game perfectly figured out and everything you're trying to do sort of works as well, it's just a good feeling.
"I am overall excited being back, happy to be playing well. I feel like I did at the Australian Open after one of my first couple of matches but this time I'm more sure I'm over the sickness.
"I couldn't really practise the way I wanted to before the Australian Open. This time it's very different and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the week."