Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Roger Federer’s first-round defeat at Shanghai had the organizers of the Vienna 500 event scrambling to offer the No. 3 a wildcard into their event.

Tournament director Herwig Straka held a wildcard for Federer until right before play was to begin. “I will immediately call and contact him,” he told a local news agency.

The event, which is played next week, would fill some of the extra time Federer would now have following his exit at Shanghai, and, depending on the restrictions ranking rules, potentially add some ranking points he will drop as the defending champion of the Masters event.

The 17-time Grand Slam event champion is now next scheduled to play Basel, his hometown event. It is also a 500 event.

The tournament would also presumably have had to pay Federer a large appearance fee, which can run anywhere from $1 million to $2 million. But it appeared willing to come up with the amount, because “Federer would crown the tournament.”

And Vienna, not usually an event Federer plays, could benefit from his desire to play in different cities, especially since the former No. 1 is a former champion of the tournament.

Tommy Haas, a good friend of Federer, was also playing in Shanghai and was said to have been asked to encourage Federer to play.

As a new 500 event, the tournament’s existing field is still a good one, with a local attraction in Dominic Thiem and top players David Ferrer, Milos Raonic, Kevin Anderson, John Isner and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga all featured attractions.

But all that planning came to naught when Federer turned down the invitation from Vienna.

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.