Roger Federer has taken a different approach to the Western and Southern Open this year, but he is happy with where his game is at.

The Swiss 17-time grand slam champion decided against playing the Rogers Cup, and the Cincinnati event will be his first since being runner-up at Wimbledon.

Federer is a six-time winner of the ATP 1000 event, but in 2014 enjoyed a run to the final in Toronto before claiming the Cincinnati title.

While the 34-year-old said his lead-up may have been different, he remains confident ahead of a second-round clash against either Roberto Bautista Agut or Pablo Cuevas.

"It's a totally different preparation this year for Cincinnati than I had last year," Federer said.

"Last year I came in tired from five straight matches in Toronto. I arrived late and wasn't sure if I was going to play. Thankfully I did and ended up winning here.

"Now I've had plenty of time. I'm fresh and eager to play and can't wait for tournament to start. Practice has been going well and I'm very happy with how I'm feeling."

Federer is the second seed in Cincinnati, but has slipped to third in the world rankings as Andy Murray moved above him after his Rogers Cup success.

The only other change to the top 10 saw Rafael Nadal jump up to eighth, ahead of Croatian Marin Cilic.