Mystery currently surrounds the situation of whether Roger Federer will actually play his hometown tournament, the Swiss Indoors in Basel this fall.
The ATP World Tour yesterday announced the world no.2 will join Rafael Nadal at the event staged October 21-27. However Basel tournament director Roger Brennwald maintains there has yet to be any financial agreement to that effect and relations are strained.
Federer was always thought to have a deep emotional attachment to the long established ATP World Tour 500 series Basel tournament.
He is a former ball-boy at the St. Jakobshalle, his mother Lynette worked in various front office roles and after winning the title five times it was widely assumed the event would be renamed the Roger Federer Open after he retires.
Brennwald insists the problem lies in a breakdown in communications with Federer’s manager Tony Godsick, who left IMG when his contract expired last July to work independently with the 31 year-old Swiss.
Because of Federer’s long-term relationship with the tournament he’s played 13 times, Brennwald sees his participation a precedence but would prefer to deal direct.
However there appears to be a major sticking point on the size of the appearance guarantee. “We actually speak the same language, but with Godsick it’s not fun,” said a frustrated Brennwald. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I can contact [Novak] Djokovic or [Andy] Murray if I want. I have spoken personally with Nadal. But with Roger it’s not possible.”
Brennwald was quoted in the Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger as saying: “Roger has always been our top priority. We have launched campaigns in the millions for him and allowed him to promote his sponsors, which is not very common. We are grateful for the time we were allowed to have with him.
The thing is very simple: We have made an offer to him, which he refused. We have submitted a second offer, which he has not responded to. We do not normally pay a seven-figure appearance fee.”
Hard to say what's true & what's not here, but it really doesn't sound like Roger to me. Hopefully the man himself will clear things up eventually.
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