World number three Novak Djokovic has set his sights on becoming the sport's leading player after establishing himself among the men's elite over the last 12 months.
The 20-year-old from Belgrade clinched his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January after a golden run of form that begun a year ago on the hardcourt surface at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Djokovic lost to Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the final of the 2007 Pacific Life Open and returns to the California desert as the third seed for the opening Masters Series event of the year.
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"I'm only 20-years-old and still have a long way to my lifetime goal, which is to be No. 1," he told a news conference on Friday. "Hopefully I can stay healthy and play professional tennis for another 10, 15 years.
The Serb said winning the Australian Open made him feel all the hard work was worth it.
"You get the feeling that everything you have done in your life has paid off in one tournament.
"Everybody's dream is to win a grand slam, any grand slam. Now I've done it and I want to win more."
Djokovic, who piled up five ATP titles in 2007, has targeted another year of consistent performances and wants to produce his best form in the big events.
"As the third player in the world, I have those responsibilities now and expectations and, of course, pressure," he added.
"But it's a challenge, which I like to have."
Djokovic broke into the world's top 10 for the first time after Indian Wells last year and relishes playing at the imposing, state-of-the-art venue.
"This was the turning point of my professional career," he said of his impressive run to the final.
"It turned out to be my most preferred surface and the surface where I play my best tennis outdoor hard court.
"I haven't lost a lot of matches in the past year-and-a-half on this surface so it's good to be back."
Djokovic, who plays his first match of the week against Italian Andreas Seppi in Saturday's second round, predicted that tennis fans would enjoy an intriguing battle for supremacy in the men's game this year.
Roger Federer has spent a record 215 consecutive weeks at the top of the rankings but Djokovic believes the Swiss is under threat from himself, second-ranked Nadal and fourth-ranked Russian Nikolay Davydenko.
"Roger has been No. 1 in the world for a long time, but he hasn't won a tournament still this year so things are a little bit more interesting."
