Roger Federer – Not everyone can afford a Rolls Royce

Written by: Staff on 29th October 2012

Roger Federer - Not everyone can afford a Rolls Royce

epa03450158 Switzerland's Roger Federer returns a ball to Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro during their final match at the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, 28 October 2012. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS |

The Swiss Indoors event will continue talks with management of Basel-born tennis icon Roger Federer after his four-year appearance contract at the hometown event expired with the weekend final.

Local media familiar with the negotiations say that Federer’s management is reportedly asking for a possible doubling of what is believed to be a current annual appearance fee of 500,000 Swiss francs ($540,000).

But Federer, who has played the event for the last 13 years and began his exposure to the sport that he dominates as a ballboy at the St Jakobshalle, told Basel media that money is not the issue: “The money is certainly not the problem. If it had been money I was after I could have played a lot more in Asia. But for me, Basel has always been a priority.”

Tournament director Roger Brennwald, who has run the event for decades, is up against the wall after losing his title sponsor a few seasons ago when tobacco advertising was outlawed in the sport.

Without Federer, the elite event faces a somewhat dimmer future. “I think I’ve helped the tournament in the past, I cannot not do more,” Federer said. “Of course, the hope is great that I’m going to play next year again.”

Brennwald has been saying for weeks that the cause is not lost and that negotiations will continue in hopes of coming to an agreement. “We want to do everything to make the love story continues. But we don’t have inexhaustible possibilities. Maybe we can no longer keep up.

“Not everyone can afford a Rolls-Royce,” he told Zurich’s Tages Anzeiger. “Federer indoors is a win-win situation. Hopefully it is still possible for longer. Maybe a year. Maybe five years. That depends on what result come from the talks. ”

Federer usually does not make public pronouncements on the money side of his career. “Right now, I’m focusing first on the end of the season, then we’ll see. ”

Added Federer’s manager, Tony Godsick, to the paper: “We will wait and see and analyze the impact of these (autumn ATP schedule) changes,” taking into account that Federer at age 31 has to pick his tournament spots carefully to prolong his extraordinary career.

Topics: Basel tennis news, Federer, Roger Brennwald, Roger Federer, Tony Godsick