The VIPs have their gold-dusted, air-conditioned stadium suites; the rest of us have the Overlook, a rooftop lounge over the Food Village’s main pavilion where we can sit in big wicker armchairs to watch matches on flat-screen televisions under the shade of cabanas, for free.

Depuis le début du tournoi, Venus avait surtout attiré l’attention pour deux choses. D’abord, le poids d’une absence, celle de Serena. Pas facile d’être “sœur unique”.

Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova led the charge and pulled off one of a few upsets in quarterfinal doubles action Tuesday.

Hank Aaron, who clubbed 755 homers in a stellar 20-plus year career, was one of three honorees Tuesday as part of the USTA’s second annual “Breaking the Barriers” reception. Also feted were Ralph de la Vega and Judy Levering.

It was a big day for American juniors on Tuesday. Andrea Collarini won his singles and doubles matches while Denis Kudla and Evan King won to set up an All-American showdown in the Round of 16. Meanwhile, five all-American girls teams moved on to the second round.

Burford Smith, whose job it is to update the giant US Open drawboard alongside Louis Armstrong Stadium, keeps an office under the stadium’s bleacher seats. It consists of a laptop, three card tables, an assistant named Frank Ayala and some trade-specific tools.

It’s not common for a Roland Garros finalist to sneak her way through the draw, but that’s been the case with Samantha Stosur, who pulled off a heroic 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 victory over Elena Dementieva in the fourth round.

Defending champion Kim Clijsters and two-time titlist Venus Williams both see action on this day, which also features men’s top seed Rafael Nadal, Sam Querrey, Francesca Schiavone, Samantha Stosur and the Spanish contingent of Feliciano Lopez, David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco and Tommy Robredo.

Tennis expert Matt Cronin gives his picks on Day 9 matches featuring Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Samantha Stosur, Venus Williams and more.

In a decision that will fundamentally change the future landscape of tennis in the United States, the USTA has passed new rules governing competition for 10-and-under tennis tournaments.