The Masters Series was created in order to streamline the huge number of tournaments sanctioned by the ATP, each competing for TV rights and sponsors. In December 1999, the ATP announced that it was gutting its current system of tournaments and "rebranding" itself as more of a race to crown a men's champion of tennis, modelling its marketing after global giants the NFL, NBA and Formula One racing. The Masters Series includes four tournaments in North America and five in Europe. The season-ending Tennis Masters Cup rotates through major world capitals and showcases the year's top eight players. Strong rivalries develop as players compete against each other on a regular basis. Entry to each of the nine Tennis Masters Series events is mandatory for the world's top 50-ranked players. In this way, players accumulate points throughout the year as they chase the final Tennis Masters Cup. For a player to win the championship, he must play in each tournament. Miss just one, and it would be almost impossible to accumulate enough points to qualify as one of the big eight, who will compete for the final prize. As Earl "Butch" Buchholz compassionately puts it, "If he gets sick, if he gets in a car accident, if his wife has a baby and he can't attend, that's too bad." The Tennis Masters Series, Madrid will take place in October 2004. | 
