The US Open is heading into its final stages and the remaining contenders are gearing up for a final push at the title. So far, we’ve seen plenty of intrigue and entertainment. Here are a few trends that have 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 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 a 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 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 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. Before Blake and Koubek went on, Shahar Peer and Nicole Vaidisova played for 2 ½ hours before their encounter was settled in a third-set tiebreak.

The women also went the distance on Wednesday night, with Venus Williams took almost two and a half hours to get past third seed Jelena Jankovic. That allowed Andy Roddick to keep Federer on court till after midnight.

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 hour 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.