Nadal plays Basel??

Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
That would make this an incredible tournament if this is true! Swiss fans and organizers would be ecstatic to have another legend like Nadal in the tournament. Add in Djokovic and Del Potro...:)
 
mariecon

mariecon

Hall of Fame
TMF said:
Yeah, Nadal had to wait til he's 32 to finally show up.
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LOL. And it will give Fed a nice warm up win against Nads on indoor HC before the WTF! I need to look at these things in a more glass half full kind of way.
 
S

sureshs

Bionic Poster
I think this is the way the organizers are hitting back at RF for asking for big appearance fees. They want to humiliate him in his hometown (and prepare for a post-Fed era).

After the spat, RF agreed to play (don't know for how much money) and even said he would play the tournament regardless of anything. Now they have checkmated him. If he withdraws, it will be regarded as a cowardly act. If he doesn't, he is either going to tank early to avoid playing Nadal, or lose to him.

His only hope is that Nadal also gets big app fees and tanks the final.
 
Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
sureshs said:
I think this is the way the organizers are hitting back at RF for asking for big appearance fees. They want to humiliate him in his hometown (and prepare for a post-Fed era).

After the spat, RF agreed to play (don't know for how much money) and even said he would play the tournament regardless of anything. Now they have checkmated him. If he withdraws, it will be regarded as a cowardly act. If he doesn't, he is either going to tank early to avoid playing Nadal, or lose to him.

His only hope is that Nadal also gets big app fees and tanks the final.
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Is Djokovic dead? :| Because neither Federer nor Nadal are going to get through him anyway.
 
N

Nitish

Professional
sureshs said:
I think this is the way the organizers are hitting back at RF for asking for big appearance fees. They want to humiliate him in his hometown (and prepare for a post-Fed era).

After the spat, RF agreed to play (don't know for how much money) and even said he would play the tournament regardless of anything. Now they have checkmated him. If he withdraws, it will be regarded as a cowardly act. If he doesn't, he is either going to tank early to avoid playing Nadal, or lose to him.

His only hope is that Nadal also gets big app fees and tanks the final.
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Looks like they have decided Rafa is going to be the new face of the tournament,i wonder how much his app fees is.
 
Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
I don't care what kind of spat Basel and Federer have. I'm just excited that this tournament is getting Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic together. :)
Del Potro is in and there will be more. Possibly Murray, Tsonga....
 
Relinquis

Relinquis

Hall of Fame
should be a fun tournament.

the big threats to Roger will be people like Delpo and Berdych (if he plays). These guys were in rude health indoors earlier this year (Rotterdam / Marseille).

how slow/high bouncing is Basel now in comparison to Rotterdam and Marseille?
 
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N

Nitish

Professional
Mike Sams said:
He did surprise us last year at the WTF though, you must admit.
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He plays pretty well at the end of the season,he has won the wtf twice and also the paris and shanghai masters.Its nadal who is usually dead(physically) at the end of the season.
 
Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
sureshs said:
Considering that Fed asked for 2 mil and that is what caused the spat, I can see Nadal playing for a mil.
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Federer doesn't deserve 2 million for Basel. Nobody does. They're just going to raise prices for tickets so it's the fans who get hit.
Also, how do we know that Nadal is actually coming to win and not just taking the paycheque? He pulls the same thing at Queens and Halle where he just gets 1 or 2 matches in.
Nadal's not going to kill his body on hardcourts at the near end of a season for a tournament like Basel. He's pulling a fast one on the organizers. :lol:
 
veroniquem

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
Rafa played Basel in 2003 and 2004. He lost in 1st round both times. I hope he has better luck this time around!
 
Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
veroniquem said:
Rafa played Basel in 2003 and 2004. He lost in 1st round both times. I hope he has better luck this time around!
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Nadal played Tokyo 2011 and gave up midway, winning only 4 points in the final set. I fear he's coming for a paycheque and will check out in the first couple of rounds, pocketing his $1 million and going back to fishing in Spain. :lol:
 
S

sureshs

Bionic Poster
Mike Sams said:
Federer doesn't deserve 2 million for Basel. Nobody does. They're just going to raise prices for tickets so it's the fans who get hit.
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We are not the ones to decide. It is the market with its demand and supply.

There are many examples of people supposedly getting more than they deserve. They are just opinions. When this occurs under closed conditions (meaning there is a possibility of collusion), it is an issue. When it occurs in the open market, there is nothing much to complain about.
 
N

Nitish

Professional
sureshs said:
Considering that Fed asked for 2 mil and that is what caused the spat, I can see Nadal playing for a mil.
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Should me way more than that,why would rafa kill himself on an indoor hard court(not real tennis).I guess the tournament directors are showing fed they are the boss.
 
Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
Nitish said:
Should me way more than that,why would rafa kill himself on an indoor hard court(not real tennis).I guess the tournament directors are showing fed they are the boss.
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But if the tournament directors are paying Federer $2 million, doesn't that mean Federer got what he wanted? :lol: :lol:
 
Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
sureshs said:
We are not the ones to decide. It is the market with its demand and supply.

There are many examples of people supposedly getting more than they deserve. They are just opinions. When this occurs under closed conditions (meaning there is a possibility of collusion), it is an issue. When it occurs in the open market, there is nothing much to complain about.
Click to expand...

People would be happy to pay higher prices if they get a star studded field. Agreed.
 
N

Nitish

Professional
Mike Sams said:
But if the tournament directors are paying Federer $2 million, doesn't that mean Federer got what he wanted? :lol: :lol:
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I dont think they have reached any kind of agreement. Federer has said he can play without any kind of contract or agreement.So fed may play without any contract.
 
E

Emet74

Professional
veroniquem said:
Rafa played Basel in 2003 and 2004. He lost in 1st round both times. I hope he has better luck this time around!
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Nadal was also supposed to play Basel in 2005 but did a fairly late pullout with injury. Fed, who was also injured at the time, came to Rafa's Basel hotel room to greet him.

So Basel was SOL that year as it was supposed to have both Fed and Nadal and ended up w/ neither.

We'll see what happens this year.
 
W.P. Mayhew

W.P. Mayhew

Semi-Pro
veroniquem said:
Are Djoko and Murray playing too? That would make for the strongest field ever in a 500!!!
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They are not scheduled at the moment. Right now the big names are Roger, Rafa, del Potro, Raonic, Wawrinka... if it's anything like last year they will probably have Gasquet, Davydenko, Paire, Dimitrov and Benneteau. Murray was supposed to play last year but withdrew at the last moment.

Going by what's been reported in the Swiss press, things are quite tense between Roger (or his agent) and the tournament director. Right now he wants to play but he's playing without a contract, so without an appearance fee. Judge him/them for wanting money, but last year the only time I saw the arena anything near its full capacity was during his matches, so I'd say the tournament needs him quite a bit. The tournament director also said Rafa's paying an old promise, after missing a scheduled appearance in 2005 and that he's looking to accumulate as many points as he can during the last leg of the season.
 
Sentinel

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
sbengte said:
I heard Fed is contemplating playing at Barcelona next year.
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Looks like Ralph has decided to play wherever Fred is playing, thinking he will get an easy win. He's hoping Fred will take care of the tough guys, and then he can moonball Fred's backhand till the cows come home.:)
 
veroniquem

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
W.P. Mayhew said:
They are not scheduled at the moment. Right now the big names are Roger, Rafa, del Potro, Raonic, Wawrinka... if it's anything like last year they will probably have Gasquet, Davydenko, Paire, Dimitrov and Benneteau. Murray was supposed to play last year but withdrew at the last moment.

Going by what's been reported in the Swiss press, things are quite tense between Roger (or his agent) and the tournament director. Right now he wants to play but he's playing without a contract, so without an appearance fee. Judge him/them for wanting money, but last year the only time I saw the arena anything near its full capacity was during his matches, so I'd say the tournament needs him quite a bit. The tournament director also said Rafa's paying an old promise, after missing a scheduled appearance in 2005 and that he's looking to accumulate as many points as he can during the last leg of the season.
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Very interesting. I thought Rafa had to be cornered (by a promise apparently) to enter an event like Basel :lol:
 
W.P. Mayhew

W.P. Mayhew

Semi-Pro
veroniquem said:
Very interesting. I thought Rafa had to be cornered (by a promise apparently) to enter an event like Basel :lol:
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It's strange why he'd prefer to play in Basel against a potentially stronger field than in Valencia, where he'd probably feel more at home. Maybe he really likes chocolate. #eatresponsibly
 
veroniquem

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
W.P. Mayhew said:
It's strange why he'd prefer to play in Basel against a potentially stronger field than in Valencia, where he'd probably feel more at home. Maybe he really likes chocolate. #eatresponsibly
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Ha ha I know he likes nutella :)
Never understood why he doesn't play Valencia. Not enough appearance fee maybe??
 
Clarky21

Clarky21

Banned
This is a dumb move. Nadal's knees are still bothering him, yet he chooses to play an indoor hard court tournament at the end of the year where he has absolutely no chance of winning? He should schedule to his strengths and not against them. He has enough money to last him a lifetime, and does not need the appearance fee. He must really want his career to end sooner rather than later.
 
Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
Clarky21 said:
This is a dumb move. Nadal's knees are still bothering him, yet he chooses to play an indoor hard court tournament at the end of the year where he has absolutely no chance of winning? He should schedule to his strengths and not against them. He has enough money to last him a lifetime, and does not need the appearance fee. He must really want his career to end sooner rather than later.
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Nadal is planning on buying a cruise ship in Manacor. He needs as much money as he can get.
 
beast of mallorca

beast of mallorca

G.O.A.T.
W.P. Mayhew said:
They are not scheduled at the moment. Right now the big names are Roger, Rafa, del Potro, Raonic, Wawrinka... if it's anything like last year they will probably have Gasquet, Davydenko, Paire, Dimitrov and Benneteau. Murray was supposed to play last year but withdrew at the last moment.

Going by what's been reported in the Swiss press, things are quite tense between Roger (or his agent) and the tournament director. Right now he wants to play but he's playing without a contract, so without an appearance fee. Judge him/them for wanting money, but last year the only time I saw the arena anything near its full capacity was during his matches, so I'd say the tournament needs him quite a bit. The tournament director also said Rafa's paying an old promise, after missing a scheduled appearance in 2005 and that he's looking to accumulate as many points as he can during the last leg of the season.
Click to expand...

Hope Federer ditches Basel and play Valencia instead. That will teach the tournament Director.......:twisted:
 
SwankPeRFection

SwankPeRFection

Hall of Fame
Mike Sams said:
Nadal played Tokyo 2011 and gave up midway, winning only 4 points in the final set. I fear he's coming for a paycheque and will check out in the first couple of rounds, pocketing his $1 million and going back to fishing in Spain. :lol:
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I think that if ANY Pro player is getting paid to be there and compete that they should stick around for the full length of the tournament even if they lose early. They get paid to promote that tournament. If they lose early, they should do some cool stuff for the public like hitting sessions with kids and adults alike who want to sign up for a few afternoons of fun. Who wouldn't want to go have a hit with Rafa or Roger or even Delpo if they check out early. If I was them, it's what I would do. Keep it controlled, but you gotta let those places/people get their money's worth out of you. If they don't feel this way, then they shouldn't be getting paid to play... the should be playing to get paid if they win, like all the other pros lesser than them do on tour. I mean isht... they make enough money as it is through advertisements and sponsorship/ambassador deals.
 
S

sureshs

Bionic Poster
SwankPeRFection said:
I think that if ANY Pro player is getting paid to be there and compete that they should stick around for the full length of the tournament even if they lose early. They get paid to promote that tournament. If they lose early, they should do some cool stuff for the public like hitting sessions with kids and adults alike who want to sign up for a few afternoons of fun. Who wouldn't want to go have a hit with Rafa or Roger or even Delpo if they check out early. If I was them, it's what I would do. Keep it controlled, but you gotta let those places/people get their money's worth out of you. If they don't feel this way, then they shouldn't be getting paid to play... the should be playing to get paid if they win, like all the other pros lesser than them do on tour. I mean isht... they make enough money as it is through advertisements and sponsorship/ambassador deals.
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The TD is actually complaining that Fed was allowed to promote his sponsors as a perk. You would think a TD would like sponsors to get more attention, apparently not.

If you mean he should promote the tournament, you need to factor in that hitting sessions with the public are not easy to organize. The tournament has to make all the logistic arrangements and hire security. As you said, who would not want to hit? So who selects from thousands of people? Who arranges for the raffle or internet selection or whatever? Everything costs money.
 
Relinquis

Relinquis

Hall of Fame
sureshs said:
We are not the ones to decide. It is the market with its demand and supply.

There are many examples of people supposedly getting more than they deserve. They are just opinions. When this occurs under closed conditions (meaning there is a possibility of collusion), it is an issue. When it occurs in the open market, there is nothing much to complain about.
Click to expand...

Open market.... lol... that's sounds so american...

Federer is going to play Basel. It's a prestige/pride thing now. Looking forward to an epic vs. Nadal...
 
West Coast Ace

West Coast Ace

G.O.A.T.
Relinquis said:
Open market.... lol... that's sounds so american...
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And you said you're in M&A in another thread...

Have to think the alleged deal with Fed fell through. Before that, the TD threw some pretty outrageous appearance fee demands out - maybe the relationship was so damaged they both decided to move on. Guessing we'll never know for sure.

I doubt Fed will play Valencia. He'll rest up and play Paris or just wait for the WTF.
 
mariecon

mariecon

Hall of Fame
W.P. Mayhew said:
They are not scheduled at the moment. Right now the big names are Roger, Rafa, del Potro, Raonic, Wawrinka... if it's anything like last year they will probably have Gasquet, Davydenko, Paire, Dimitrov and Benneteau. Murray was supposed to play last year but withdrew at the last moment.

Going by what's been reported in the Swiss press, things are quite tense between Roger (or his agent) and the tournament director. Right now he wants to play but he's playing without a contract, so without an appearance fee. Judge him/them for wanting money, but last year the only time I saw the arena anything near its full capacity was during his matches, so I'd say the tournament needs him quite a bit. The tournament director also said Rafa's paying an old promise, after missing a scheduled appearance in 2005 and that he's looking to accumulate as many points as he can during the last leg of the season.
Click to expand...

Anyone who thinks the fans in Basel aren't showing up to see Federer are seriously deluded. It's his hometown. They love him there. Not sure what the bad blood is all about between him and the tournament director but that guy might be shooting himself in the foot byt airing these things in the media. I'm sure Federer was well aware that Nadal was playing when he agreed to come back this year. But this bad press might be enough to keep him away.
 
mariecon

mariecon

Hall of Fame
Sentinel said:
Looks like Ralph has decided to play wherever Fred is playing, thinking he will get an easy win. He's hoping Fred will take care of the tough guys, and then he can moonball Fred's backhand till the cows come home.:)
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I guess you (and Nadal) need to be reminded that Nadal is zero for four against Federer on indoor HC. That's 0 for Nadal and 4 for Federer. :twisted:
 
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