Maybe Blake could have played the Asia swing (at least for the 250 and 500 events - I believe Donald Young was around the same ranking prior to his Bangkok run) but if it's possible for him to stay in the US and build up the points, I say go for it. Querrey - how can you even judge his game right now when the loss is to Karlovic? - has no choice but to play events like this because he's outside the Top 100.
I think it's fascinating that a challenger tournament could draw serious American interest - and revenue. Outside of an event like Sunrise, that's pretty cool.