Recovering Federer upbeat for Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) - Swiss world number one Roger Federer, a three-times champion at Indian Wells, said he was happy with his game on Friday after recovering from a recent viral problem.

Federer, top seed at this week's Pacific Life Open, has competed in only two ATP events this season after succumbing to mononucleosis (glandular fever) at the end of last year.

"In practice, everything's perfect and feeling fine," the 26-year-old told reporters during preparation at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for his opening second round match which has been put back to Sunday.

"I'm really hitting the ball well, so I'm very happy with the level of play at the moment."

Asked if he was 100 percent fit, Federer replied: "I think to feel 100 I need to have more matches under my belt so I will only be able to answer that, hopefully, in a few days' time."

The winner of 12 grand slam titles was finally diagnosed with mononucleosis after the Australian Open in January, when he lost to Serb Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.

"It wasn't a shock at first when I found out what it was," he said. "It was okay, fine. Then it was let's find out what that exactly means, you know.

"They did more tests and they said I actually went through a very strong mono. Only later did they tell me it was all over and fixed. This was when I was quite relieved.

FOOD POISONING

"I think I had food poisoning and mono at the Australian Open. I was sick prior to that before Christmas and that wasn't normal. I got sick three times in such a short period of time after not having been sick for like eight years."

Beaten in the first round in Dubai last week by Briton Andy Murray, Federer was delighted to be back at a desert venue where he clinched the title in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

"This tournament has worked out well for me over the last few years and I've played some of my best tennis here," the Basel native said. "I've had some great finals here, big matches, and I always enjoy playing here.

"The surface really suits my game. My slice stays low, the kick goes up and the ball travels quickly through the air.

"I can really move well on this surface, so it's a bit of a surprise obviously last year that I lost in my first round."

Twelve months ago, Federer was upset 6-3 4-6 6-0 in the second round by Argentina's Guillermo Canas.

"He played a good match and hopefully I can bounce back this year, especially after what I've been through the last few weeks and months," the Swiss said. "It just would be nice to be back on the winning road."

Federer plays his first match on Sunday against Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or Argentina's Sergio Roitman.

(Editing by Peter Rutherford)