TennisFanatic7 said:
It would make much more sense if Newport was before Wimbledon and I can certainly see that being the reason not to have the DC ties in a separate week. However, it probably won't punish Newport all that much given that they barely managed to attract enough top 100 players to fill the seedings this year.
You are right that Newport is already a weak tournament. However, if you throw in DC
in the same week, it will become even weaker. For example Karlovic, Hewitt, Isner etc
who participated in this year's edition are serious DC players and will play in DC in preference
to Newport.
Also, you should realize that this is not just about the players in top 100. When
DC QF is being played, in the very same week many countries will be involved in a
regional tournament battle (DC has a completed relegation structure) to earn a berth
in the play off round which lets one enter the international group. So, many players
ranked outside of 100 also will be busy during the DC week.
I think this is a way by means of which ATP can armtwist Newport for agreeing to
switch to a spot before Wimbledon.