Tennis was once greeted with suspicion in China, but the recent success of its women players has led to a surprising boom in popularity.

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So much so that not only have newly formed country clubs in the country's wealthier regions and public courts become swamped with keen players, but tennis has found a new purpose as salvation to motorists stranded on log-jammed highways.

China is currently in the midst of its annual holiday, National Day, which celebrates the founding of the Communist Party. It comes at the end of the Mid-Autumn Festival. As a result, monumental traffic lines stretching more than 30 miles sprung up on the weekend, after travelers were urged to take to the roads to avoid packed train stations.

Perhaps predictably, a proper Carmageddon took place — not like those phony L.A. ones — with major highways quickly resembling parking lots and no one getting anywhere in a hurry.

But what once would have been a source for frustration instead turned into an excuse for some to

Serena Williams and coach Patrick Mouratouglou. — PKTennis.fr

Serena Williams has been spending a lot on time on the court with coach Patrick Mouratouglou this season, winning Wimbledon, gold at the Olympics and the U.S. Open to cap an impressive 2012 season.

But based on these photos from a French tennis website, Williams and Mouratouglou may be spending time together off the course as well. The two were spotted cozying up to each other on the streets of Paris recently, leading many to believe there's a budding relationship going on between player and coach.

Mouratouglou, who runs a tennis academy in France, started working with Williams after the French Open, and based solely on the number of major trophies she's won since he came on board, there's no question the switch has been beneficial.

PKTennis.fr

I guess it could now be beneficial in other ways as well. Are they really dating? Who knows for sure. We'd all like to believe a photo or two tells the whole story, but maybe this is just two friends hanging out together in the City of Love, arms around

In addition to his relentless defense, his unyielding will to win and the support of a very  sympathetic crowd, Andy Murray had one other slight advantage over Novak Djokovic in Monday's U.S. Open final.

Only Murray had James Bond on his side.

Actor Sean Connery watched from courtside, clapping, yelling and even fist-pumping each time his fellow Scotsman won a crucial point. Murray rewarded Connery by eking out a five-set win in nearly five hours, his long-awaited first grand slam victory after four previous losses in the final of a major and six in the semifinals.

Connery and the rest of the pro-Murray crowd appeared destined for heartbreak when Djokovic fought his way out of a two-set hole by outplaying the frustrated Scotsman in the third and fourth sets. Murray regained his composure in the fifth set, however, breaking Djokovic three times in the set for a 6-2 win.

[ Video: Murray reflects on first Grand Slam ]

The public first learned of Connery's affinity for Murray when the 82-year-old actor watched Saturday's U.S. Open semifinals from Murray's box. Connery and Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson then crashed Murray's press conference Saturday night with Murray's mom Judy in tow, leading to this memorable exchange.

It's been an interesting couple of weeks at the U.S. Open. After dealing with torrential downpours for much of the tournament, Andy Murray and Thomas Berdych had to battle another one of Mother Nature's elements during Saturday's men's semifinal: some incredible winds that gusted upwards of 20-30 mph during the match.

How crazy were the winds? Check out this gust that blew over Berdych's chair and scattered debris onto the court as Murray was serving during the second set. It's a good thing both players weren't catching a breather between games or they might have ended up on the court as well.

Murray ended up beating Berdych (and the wind) 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (7) to advance to Sunday's Monday's final. The second semifinal between Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer was delayed in the first set with the Spaniard up 5-2. That means the U.S. Open will have its fifth straight Monday finish.

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The rain keeps falling at the U.S. Open. — Getty Images

Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka will have to wait another day to play the U.S. Open women's final, after heavy winds and rain forecasted for Saturday night forced officials to turn Super Saturday into a Super Sunday twin bill.

Even without the rain during the men's semifinal between Andy Murray and Thomas Berdych, both players had trouble on the court -- especially with their serve -- as the battled 20-30 mph wind gusts that wreaked havoc on the match.

With partly cloudy skies and only a 20 percent chance of showers expected on Sunday, there's a good chance the men's and women's finals will be completed this weekend. U.S. Open officials announced the women's final will be played at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

(Update: The second semifinal between Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer was called due to rain in the first set. That means the U.S. Open will have its fifth straight Monday finish.)

Serena Williams (Getty Images)

Three games into Friday's one-sided U.S. Open semifinal between Serena Williams and Sara Errani, CBS analyst John McEnroe figured the outcome was already a foregone conclusion.

McEnroe began evaluating Williams' chances in Saturday's final against top-seeded Victoria Azarenka, noting that he did not expect tentativeness to be a problem for the American star.

A 3-0 first-set lead is typically far too early to pencil any player into the next round, but it's hard to blame McEnroe because of the dominance Williams has displayed in New York the past 10 days. She has steamrolled opponents with astonishing ease, a streak that continued Friday with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over an overmatched Errani.

Even though Williams is a year older than Kim Clijsters when she retired last week and just a few months younger than Andy Roddick when he played his last match Wednesday, the 30-year-old American remains the most dominant force in women's tennis. She won Wimbledon, captured gold at the Olympics and stands one victory away from her 15th grand slam singles title.

Rather than waste words trying to sum up Williams' dominance, it's easier to allow some numbers to do it. Here's a by the numbers look at how untouchable Williams has been so far during the U.S. Open.

It's no doubt little consolation to Janko Tipsarevic after dropping an epic five-set classic to David Ferrer in the U.S. Open quarterfinals Thursday, but the hard-luck Serbian did deliver the shot of the tournament in a losing effort.

At 1-1 in the second-set tiebreaker with Tipsarevic already trailing by a set, Ferrer unleashed a crosscourt backhand that appeared destined to be a winner the moment it left his racquet. Improbably, Tipsarevic not only ran the ball down but also hit a winner of his own, a desperation lunging backhand passing shot that started well wide of the line yet somehow fell inches inside it.

The shot helped eighth-seeded Tipsarevic build the momentum he needed to seize control of the tiebreaker and capture the second and third sets, but he couldn't quite close out the notoriously relentless Ferrer. Even after Tipsarevic built a 4-1 fifth-set lead and had Ferrer at 15-30 on his own serve, the fourth-seeded Spaniard refused to give up, rallying to force a decisive tiebreaker and winning it 7-4.

The comeback from Ferrer coincided with a nasty tumble by Tipsarevic in which he landed hard on his left hip. That was one of the turning points of the match, yet Tipsarevic opted not to use it as an excuse, noting that both men played high-quality tennis from the start of the match until the final point.

"Both of us had chances," Tipsarevic said. "Especially because he played a really good game a 4-2, I really don't think I screwed up in any way, that I played bad or I mishit or I double faulted or something like that. I'm just feeling bad I'm not on the other side of the outcome."

As Andy Roddick fell behind Juan Martin del Potro Wednesday in what would turn out to be the final match of his career, the 30-year-old American admits all his previous tennis milestones began drifting through his mind.

He thought about his mom driving him to practice when he was little. He thought about matches he played when he was 12. And he thought about all the memorable moments he experienced during a bumpy yet brilliant career.

The emotion of the match finally overcame Roddick after he sprayed a forehand wide on match point to send del Potro into the quarterfinals with a 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4 win. A red-eyed Roddick buried his face in a towel as del Potro saluted him, then choked back tears once again as he addressed the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium one final time.

"For the first time in my career, I'm not sure what to say," Roddick said. "Since I was a kid, I've been coming to this tournament. I felt lucky just to sit where all of you are sitting today, to watch this game and to see the champions who have come and gone and I've loved every minute of it.

"It has been a road with a lot of ups, a lot of downs and a lot of great moments. I've appreciated your support along the way. I know I certainly haven't made it easy for you at times, but I really do appreciate it and love you guys with all my heart."