I think not all players are unified. Grandpa-Fed discovered Hopman Cup be the best AO preparation for him personally, both the format and the jetlag impact: only 4h time difference from Doha, which is very important to him as he drags his whole family along his aging body, he even started publicly complaining about it. Further, people in Perth love him like nowhere else setting audience records, even at the training sessions, especially for him. I'm sure the new galore won't be as Fed-friendly as Perth is.
My emotions are with Fed on it, because:
1) New galore stole Hopman Cup format (2 singles + double), the only difference Hopman is mixed, which actually makes it more fun to watch. And now Hopman existence is threatened because if all male players go to the galore, who will stay in Perth? Fed + women? Big injustice to Hopman, IMO
2) Other male tourneys (Brisbane, Sydney) are also in danger of disappearing from calendar (or transforming into WTA only events) if all male players go to the galore. Stupid and unnecessary separation IMO. Men have Davis Cup (or whatever they transform it into) women have Fed Cup (funny name coincidence given my vision of "Fed + women" in Perth) and that's enough and well ballanced tribal separation of sexes. Why to invent another, totally superfluous male tribal event that will disrupt well balanced calendar?
I'm disappointed especially re 1). I think Fed will be disappointed too. He may even give it as an excuse to retire at the end of 2019, although the true reasons might be the aging body/mind. But why not throw a little blame on others, say: "ATP is not like it used to be so I and my family do not feel comfortable following it anymore, I leave it for younger plaeyrs to follow" would be a good pretext for exit while still on top.
