• Australian Open

Becker accuses Federer of becoming 'complacent'

Roger Federer has not been without a grand slam title in eight years © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• Article: Time right for Djokovic and Clijsters
  
• News: Coach backs Federer for 20 slams
  
• News: Murray dodges big guns early
  
• News: Nadal's path to Australian Open smoothed by seedings
  
• Profile: Roger Federer

ESPN Australian Open betting preview

Boris Becker has backed a "complacent" Roger Federer to return to his best form in 2011 after he was given a "kick up the bum" last year.

Federer attempts to defend the only grand slam currently belonging to him when the Australian Open gets underway on Monday, and the Swiss has plenty of rankings points to claw back if he is to dethrone Rafael Nadal as world No. 1.

The first half of Federer's 2010 season, despite the Australian Open triumph, was littered with inconsistent performances, resulting in shock defeats such as his quarter-final exit to Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon.

Becker pays credit to Nadal for his exceptional form, but he insists Federer had taken his eye off the ball, believing there was little beyond Nadal to trouble him in the men's draw.

"I believe that Federer got complacent last year," Becker said in the Telegraph. "I don't think Federer was operating at 100 per cent last season, as he got complacent.

"Losing early at the French Open and Wimbledon would have been a kick up the bum for him. Those defeats really bothered him, as that was not what he had come to expect of himself, and he realised that he was going to have to work harder if he was going to continue winning grand slams.

"I think the reason for the complacency was that, though he recognises Nadal as a rival, he was not so concerned about the other players, such as [Novak] Djokovic, [Andy] Murray, [Robin] Soderling and Berdych. He is so good that he was almost able to get away with it for a while, but then he had those quarter-finals defeats at the French Open and Wimbledon."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.