When not hovering over the U.S. Open or another event in the area, the Direct TV airship lays low at the Solberg Airport in Readington, New Jersey. We visited the aircraft and took a flying lesson.

For years, tennis players have complained that, unlike many other pro sports, there is no designated commissioner of tennis, an objective decision-maker who can point the game in the right direction. And in his post-match press conference, Andy Roddick was asked about whether he might be the right guy for this job.

It took nine days to halt the tennis at the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, Queens, this year. At approximately 1:30 p.m., the United States Tennis Association, the organization that runs the tournament, announced it was canceling all day and night sessions for Day 9 of the US Open.

Labor Day, which falls on the first Monday of September each year, was first observed in 1882 by the Central Labor Union of New York. Now, the holiday also marks the start of the second week of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships in Queens, where, so far, the players have every reason to be happy.

You make friends when you're sitting in the seats behind the baselines in the Grandstand Stadium. That's because most of the people who score these seats don't give them up easily, so you end up spending your entire day with them.

The U.S. Open bookshop in Queens is chock-full of autobiographies by tennis's greatest champions -- Serena Williams, Andre Agassi, Arthur Ashe , among them. And now there’s a new book on the shelf, “Rafa: My Story,” written by defending U.S. Open champ Rafael Nadal and veteran writer John Carlin.

As hard as it may be to imagine, there once was a time when women’s tennis wear was a trendsetting fashion. From the 1950s through the '70s, a Ted Tinling dress was simply a must-have for any woman with style.

Venus William, a former world No. 1 and a two-time winner of the U.S. Open, bowed out of the tournament at the end of a disappointing season — the 31-year-old is currently ranked No. 33 in the world in singles and has been plagued by injuries for at least the past two years. But fans were sad to hear the news.

The stunning early-round exit of Li Na, the No. 1 player in China, on Tuesday night means all reigning major singles champions are out of the running for this year’s U.S. Open women’s race.

Chef Jim Abbey is the U.S. Open's No. 1 chef — he's been the chief executive of food for the Open for six years. And over the course of the 20-day tournament, Abbey and his 250-plus culinary staff will feed more than 700,000 fans at 60 concession stands, five restaurants, 100 luxury suites and the Player’s Lounge.

I'm heading out to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows on Monday.  It was Venus Williams against Russia's Vesna Dolonts and Roger Federer against Santiago Giraldo of Colombia.

Once home to the U.S. Open, the iconic Forest Hills Tennis Stadium where the first African-American won a major tennis championship and women first earned equal prize money is now a crumbling ruin.

The U.S. Open, the final tennis major of the year, begins in New York City at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Monday despite minor damage from Tropical Storm Irene.

Aspiring tennis players often head to training academies in warmer, year-round climates such as Florida or California to hone their talent. But now the United States Tennis Association is trying to keep local talent closer to home.

Rain forced the postponement of the US Open men’s singles final on Sunday, but no amount of rain could have saved the women’s final on Saturday night. Has the time come for the women to play best-of-five sets in the final of the US Open?

I really wanted to see a Rafa/Roger final at the US Open. In the press box, we were quietly rooting for it. It would have been a compelling and dramatic story. But Novak Djokovic spoiled the storyline, with his dramatic, hard-fought upset of Federer in their semifinal.

Weary of reading about five-set thrillers on Armstrong Stadium, or another crushing victory by Rafael Nadal? Here are the non-tennis headlines I’ve been following this US Open.

The U.S. national anthem brought Arthur Ashe Stadium to its feet a few minutes before noon today. Shortly thereafter, Rohan Bopanna and Aisam Qureshi walked out onto center court followed by the world’s No. 1 doubles team, Bob and Mike Bryan.

Spain’s Fernando Verdasco was playing two opponents at the US Open last night: his fellow countryman, Rafael Nadal, and the wind.