When It's Not About the Money, How Do You Get Them To Play?

Interesting article by Matt Cronin on the uncertain state of the ATP.  It sounds like they're trying to solve the same problem the WTA's Roadmap is attempting to solve.  When the top players are making enough money off the court so that prize money is no longer as alluring, how do you get them to commit to tournaments?  Because obviously, without them, the tournaments will fold because people want to see Fed, Rafa, and Nole.  Not Stan, Tabasco, and Tipsy. 

It's a tough problem but it sounds like McEnroe Sr. is on the same page as Larry Scott, at least conceptually:

"The rules as they exist now are terrible for the players," McEnroe Sr. said. "De Villiers lost support of the players and tournaments. He was making rules that the players didn't like and he should have never done that. The tour is a car. The engine is the players, the tournaments are the body, and wheels are the sponsors and TV. Without all of them working in concert, the car won't work. But without the engine, the car won't move."

You can't force players to play but you also can't give players free reign to decide which tourneys to play and which to sit out.  For as much as I've criticized the Roadmap, at least it was put together with input from the players and for the most part it sounds like the top players are on board, which is key.