Rafael Nadal blitzes past flat-footed Ancic

RAFAEL Nadal sent out a message of intent with a thumping and brutal 6-2, 6-2 victory over Mario Ancic at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

CLASSY: Rafael Nadal - and his questionable shorts - took little time to progress to the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 event (Getty Images)

The defending champion romped to victory in just over an hour and will now face either John Isner or Sam Querrey in the fourth round.

And on the evidence of this performance, a third victory in the Masters 1000 event is not as improbable as the odds.

Nadal, who has been struggling with a knee injury, is playing in his first tournament since his quarter-final defeat to Andy Murray at the Australian Open.

And while it will take more than a couple of straightforward wins - he easily beat Rainer Schuettler in his first match - to convince doubters he has recaptured his best form, there were encouraging signs for his legion of fans.

"I played at a very good level and it was a comfortable victory," said Nadal. "I had a lot of winners with my forehand and my serving was aggressive.

"I'm really pleased with how I'm playing and after all the injury problems, it's just nice to get some matches under my belt."

Meanwhile, second seed Novak Djokovic survived a major scare before sealing a 6-3 2-6 7-6  victory over Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Djokovic was forced to save three match points before eventually coming through a tense final-set tie-break.