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[TheMadHatter]

He wasn't invited to play in Abu Dhabi and you can only play there if they have asked you! Quite a lot was made of the fact that the Fed wasn't asked when the players were announced.

When it was announced the AD directors were making a lot of excuses about Federer and certainly seemed to imply some sort of failed negotiations.

[Aileen]

Why should Federer get more appearance fee than anyone else?

I made this comment about the fee based on a post from Alis @ 10:49pm yesterday, so it's pure speculation and I apologise for the confusion.  However I'll see if I can track down just exactly what this dispute is all about.

[TheMadHatter]

I assume they all negotiate their own appearance fees.

In a Masters?

[Emma Jean]

Why should Federer get more appearance fee than anyone else?

I think it's because he brings a lot more weight to the tournaments and draws a bigger crowd because of his achievements, so that gives him a lot of room for negotiation.

[Alis]

In a Masters?

No - I meant in invitational exhibitions.  I thought we were talking about Abu Dhabi.

[Aileen]

When it was announced the AD directors were making a lot of excuses about Federer and certainly seemed to imply some sort of failed negotiations.

You're right MH.  I did a search and it seems Roger's 5 year contract with the Swiss Indoors expired this year and that his manager is requesting that his starting fee be doubled from CHF500,000 to CHF1m - a figure which the organisers say is not only unrealistic but also one which they can't afford.  However they're desperate to have Roger, and Roger is equally keen to go on playing there, so therein lies the problem, and for the moment at least negotiations have stalled - http://www.rogerfedererfans.com/forum/topic/835-will-roger-federer-renew-his-contract-with-swiss-indoors-basel/

[teejay1]

I definitely understand this. If (painting a scenario here) you had a son and if he was hurt/killed (God forbid) by someone before your eyes, then the anger and hatred you'd feel is completely justifiable. Similarly, the way Andy was treated by those Federer fans in front of our very eyes, who love him so dearly and especially when neither Andy nor us were involved in any kind of provocation, I found our anger/hatred towards the act completely reasonable.

That illustration fits exactly what I meant. For me personally, the situation with Andy was bad as well because I couldn't vent by yelling abuse at the TV. That made it feel worse and added to the frustration.

[teejay1]

If you can equate a parent watching as her child is killed by someone with Andy getting booed, then I honestly don't know what to say, except I'm assuming you are not a parent.

I thought it was obvious that EJ wasn't making a comparison between the two. The point being made was that it is sometimes harder to excuse someone doing harm or insulting someone we care about than it is if someone insults or harms us.

I'll make that clearer. When I was at school I had a friend whose mother died from cancer. My friend never really recovered from the loss of her mother and it happened before she was a teenager. Now, I knew another girl who relentlessly teased my friend for grieving. Had this girl had a go at me about something I could have let it go pretty easily, but she didn't, she had a go at my friend, so I made damned sure she understood what a pathetic, nasty, vindictive little cow she was.