Roger discounts the doubters as Miami begins

Roger Federer has a quiet message for Novak Djokovic after the Serb passed him for the No. 2 ranking with a third title this season at Indian Wells: staying anchored in the uber-elite has always been a slippery slope.

The Swiss. now ranked third, remains unworried by reports of his alleged tennis demise, quietly confident heading to a weekend start at the Miami Masters.

"It depends on who says that," said Federer of some reports which suggest that he is on the way down after ruling the game for years. Instead of worrying, he's waiting for a second-round opponent after a bye, facing either Czech Radek Stepanek or Italy's Fabio Fognini.

"I don't know if it's 5 percent saying it, 95 percent saying it. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter too much to me if someone is saying that or not. I still think I've had a great six months," said the 16-time Grand Slam winner. "I feel like I'm playing really good tennis, and right now Novak is just a bit better than the rest. And that's OK."

Federer knows that it hard to stay at the top, and he's not concerned about standing third, he most interested in fighting to get eventually past Nadal and take back the top ranking spot.

"I never expected myself to dominate for 15 years, it always goes in phases. This is a good one. I think at the top right now, actually everybody is playing well, but then you hear stories being made up. They are also part of our sport. And it's fine, whatever it is, as long as I don't get affected by them. That's what counts."
### More Latest Sports news: http://torun-sportsworld.blogspot.com