 Lights, Cameras and Action
The US Open concluded this weekend with both the men's and women's top seeds claiming titles. We've seen plenty of intrigue and entertainment over the past two weeks. Looking back, here are a few trends that popped up during the Open:
Teen Scene
Youth was served - and served notice - in the women's draw. No less than 31 teenagers were entered in the 128-player draw, and eight made it all the way to the third round.
What's more, every fourth-round match in the bottom half of the draw featured at least one player under 20 - Agnes Szavay, Victoria Azarenka, Tamira Paszek, Shahar Peer, and Agnieszka Radwanska. Peer won the all-teen matchup against Radwanska, and 18-year-old Szavay also made it into the quarterfinals.
Ana Ivanovic carried the banner in the top half of the draw - the 19-year-old made it to the fourth round before losing to Venus Williams.
Don't Forget the Veterans
While newcomers were exceeding expectations on the women's side, the old guard was making a stand on the men's side. There were 32 men aged 28-and-over in the men's draw - and 19 were in their thirties. Nine reached the third round and three made it into the quarterfinals - Carlos Moya, 31; Tommy Haas, 29, and Juan Ingacio Chela, who had his 28th birthday during the tournament.
Age has clearly not wearied them - all won at least one five-setter on their way to the quarterfinals. On Louis Armstrong Stadium, Moya won a rollicking third-round encounter that stands out even with his distinguished career. "I can't stop talking about the other day," reflected the former French Open champ. "The atmosphere was amazing for me. Being so far away from home, to feel what I felt that day, it was unbelievable."
Chela played two five-setters in a row to reach the quarters, while Haas and James Blake gave Labor Day viewers an entertaining afternoon with a spellbinding tiebreak finish to their lengthy contest.
Blake had played another memorable five-setter against a veteran in the second round as well. Fabrice Santoro, the 34-year-old Frenchman known as the magician, used his full range of feathery touch and tricky spins before finally running out of tricks in front of an appreciative night crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Jonas Bjorkman, 35, played cerebral, entertaining tennis for five sets against Andy Murray, 20, before he also bowed out in the second round.
Tim Henman, who will turn 33 before the US Open ends, bowed out of Grand Slam tennis for good last week. But it's clear that plenty of his contemporaries will be around for a while yet.
Court Courture
More than ever, players are using more than just their racquets to make a statement on court.
It's become an annual tradition for Serena and Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova to unveil some memorable attire for their US Open campaigns. This year, Venus decided to go one better - she unveiled an entire line. Named "EleVen" after her childhood address and produced in association with budget-conscious retailer Steve and Barry's, Venus previewed some of the athletic wear during her matches. All of the items, including the shoes Venus wore on court, are under $20.
By her standards, Serena was relatively demure this year. She wore the same pink and black Nike outfit for all of her matches - with one modification. During her first-round match, she tore off the small pink ribbon sewn into the dress.
But it was Sharapova who won the glamor stakes with her red Nike "Big Apple" dress, which sparkled with 600 crystals sewn into the neckline - an homage to the city's skyline. "Put on a nice outfit and some makeup and you're the bomb," said Sharapova, who wore it for her first two night matches and sailed through. But for her third round match during the day, Sharapova put on a white dress - and bombed out.
It's no surprise to see Bethanie Mattek sporting some unusual attire, but even she may have outdone herself this year. She played her first match in an ensemble dubbed the "Wonder Woman" outfit and sported a leopard print number in her last doubles match. Each outing featured low-cut tops, hip-hugging skirts, and flashy headbands from Bebe Sport that had doubles partner Sania Mirza worrying about a wardrobe malfunction. Is a Serena-esque catsuit next? No - even Mattek has her limits. "I don't know if I would wear it," she said.
For once, the women didn't entirely monopolize the field. Top seed Roger Federer came out as the man in black for his opening night match, wearing black Nike shoes, socks, shirt and striped "tuxedo" shorts. There was no shortage of high fashion experts to critique the look, either - Federer not only had friend and Vogue editor Anna Wintour in attendance, but his girlfriend Mirka was sitting next to designer Oscar de la Renta. Ralph Lauren also looked on.
Justin Gimelstob won hands down in the quantity over quality department, modeling practically Nike's entire lineup during his first-round match against Andy Roddick. The perspiring Gimelstob changed his shirt nine times and his shorts twice during the three-set match.
Late Nights
A number of marathon night sessions have left tennis fans' eyes increasingly bleary as the days have worn on. On Tuesday, Arthur Ashe Stadium saw nearly 15 consecutive hours of play - the schedule began at 11:00 am with doubles and ended with David Ferrer ousting Rafael Nadal at 1:15 am, one of the latest finishes in Open history. The day session bled into the night session, with 7:30 pm ticket holders having to wait impatiently outside the stadium before they could get in to watch Justine Henin take on Serena Williams.
James Blake took part in two long-nighters, playing till after midnight against Fabrice Santoro on the first Thursday and till after 1:00 am to defeat Stefan Koubek on Saturday night. Fellow American Andy Roddick kept Federer on court till after midnight on Wednesday, getting off to a late start when Venus Williams took almost two and a half hours to get past third seed Jelena Jankovic.
And while there are no night session matches on the other courts, you wouldn't have known it on Sunday. On Louis Armstrong Stadium, Jankovic defeated Sybille Bammer 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 in a match that was originally scheduled to begin "not before 3:00 pm" but ended up finishing at 11:01 pm. Jankovic had arrived at 1:00 pm to begin warming up, but didn't get on till over seven hours later. The match was delayed by two five-set marathons that took place on the stadium earlier in the day - David Ferrer defeating David Nalbandian 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-5 and Stanistas Wawrinka defeating Robby Ginepri 5-7, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
On the Grandstand, Ernests Gulbis upset Tommy Robredo 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 in a match that began at almost 10:00 pm and finished at 11:30 pm. A couple of five-setters had once again set the schedule back - Juan Ignacio Chela defeated Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-7(5), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 and Carlos Moya defeated Kohlschreiber 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4.
 Series Recap
The players arrived in New York after a six-week warm-up on the North American hardcourts. Winning or losing, the best players of the summer proved worth keeping an eye on during the Open - all produced some memorable moments.
US Open Series Leaders:
1. Roger Federer (SUI)
- Champion (4th straight US Open title)
2. James Blake (USA)
- Fourth round (Rollercoaster five-setter to Tommy Haas)
3. Andy Roddick (USA)
- Quarterfinals (Tough three-set fight with Roger Federer)
4. Radek Stepanek (CZE)
- Second round (Five-setter against Novak Djokovic was one of the best matches of the first week)
* Novak Djokovic (only one tournament played)
- Finals (Defeated in straight sets by Roger Federer)
1. Maria Sharapova (RUS)
- Third round (shock three-set loss to Agnieszka Radwanska)
2. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
- Quarterfinals (Best women's match so far in a third-set tiebreak against Venus Williams)
3. Patty Schnyder (SUI)
- Third round (Third-set tie-break against Tamira Paszek, the youngest player in the draw)
4. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)
- Still active (semifinals)
* Justine Henin (only one tournament played)
- Champion (2nd US Open title)
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