Nadal insists road to French Open starts at Indian Wells

WORLD number three Rafael Nadal insists he is determined to make his mark at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells to set himself up for the European clay court season later in the year.

FIGHTING BACK: Rafael Nadal insists his injury troubles are behind him as the road to Roland Garros starts at Indian Wells (Getty Images)

The 23-year old is set to compete for the first time since withdrawing from his Australian Open quarter final against Andy Murray in January with a knee problem.

The Spaniard's setback in Melbourne was the latest in a long list of injury problems to have dogged him in the past eight months since losing his French Open title and number one ranking to Roger Federer.

But Nadal insists he is fighting fit again and wants to put the groundwork in for the European clay court season by defending his title in California.

"I've been training hard for the past three week since I was given the all clear," said Nadal. "I feel strong and my knees do not hurt. I am ready to compete.

"The first objective for me now is to play well on the American hard courts. I know I have to defend 1000 points after winning Indian Wells in 2009 but the main idea is just to play well.

"I want to come to the clay courts high in confidence. Without that confidence, competitions become more difficult.

"There's no point denying that I play well in Europe and that is one of my main objectives again."

World number one Roger Federer will also be playing his first tournament since the Australian Open in Melbourne.

The 16-time grand slam champion, who won a hat-trick of titles in Indian Wells between 2004 and 2006, missed February with a lung infection and will be looking to improve on his semi-final appearance from last year.

Both Nadal and Federer as well as British number one and fourth seed Andy Murray, will receive byes to the second round.

Federer will face either Victor Hanescu or Juan Ignacio Chela in round two while Murray awaits ether Andreas Seppi or Robby Ginepri and Nadal will face a qualifier.