By Liza Horan

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If your wallet's on The Recession Diet and you just can't spring for U.S. Open tickets, take heart that you'll still be able to catch the action without sweating on the 7 train to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Lots of developments are in place for you to enjoy the world-class tennis happening on court as well as get behind-the-scenes goodies wherever you are. Here's a round-up.

Want tickets? Your best bet is to click here or, if you have lots of American Express points, trade them in here.

Want to watch broadcast coverage? You're covered with more options than ever. Click here for full U.S. Open TV schedule.

- ESPN: There's a lot of firsts this year. John McEnroe and Patrick McEnroe both are signed on as commentators, along with Mary Joe Fernandez, Cliff Drysdale (the longest serving ESPN tennis analyst), Mary Carillo and Pam Shriver.
     The U.S. Open is the capstone to ESPN's biggest year of broadcasting tennis as it marks 2009 with broadcasts of all four majors and the first U.S. Open on ESPN proper; previously it was shown on ESPN2.
     Company executives Len DeLuca and Jed Drake are downright giddy about securing the rights to broadcast the U.S. Open on ESPN, which they call "a major acquisition" that was "a culmination of a seven-year strategy." They promise: "You're going to get a 21st century treatment of a great event." In fact, the first week's coverage will mimic a golf tournament in that coverage can switch from Louis Armstrong Stadium to Arthur Ashe Stadium to the Grandstand Court as deftly as they toggle between different golf holes to track all players.
     Drysdale said a high point for his work is all the "bells and whistles" that ESPN provides analysts, such as viewing footage shot by an XMO camera, which provides super slow motion video. Drysdale, on a press conference call last Thursday previewing ESPN's coverage, added that the cable network has done a great deal to help grow the sport in the U.S.
     The tournament presentation actually begins today with two hours of some of the greatest action from Flushing Meadows being shown on ESPN Classic. The Mike & Mike radio show, which is shown 6-10 a.m. ET on ESPN, will include U.S. Open content. The first of 100 hours of live match coverage in high definition begins Monday at noon ET. Spanish coverage will be provided by ESPN Desportes.
     Besides the live coverage, ESPN360.com will show 400 hours of coverage through its paid online broadcast program and ESPN.com will provide stories and photos.

- DIRECTV: Not only is the DIRECTV blimp providing aerial views of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center throughout the tournament, but the satellite provider has the answer for fans who need to know what's happening in several matches at once. From Aug. 31 to Sept. 7, the U.S. Open Mix Channel allows viewers to watch anywhere from one to six live matches simultaneously; audio for one match supercedes the others.
> Click for details

- Tennis Channel: Martina Navratilova and Jimmy Connors join Murphy Jensen and team as commentators. In addition to a sublicense from ESPN to broadcast live matches, Tennis Channel will be producing specialty content in its biggest U.S. Open yet. TennisChannel.com features additional coverage and a RacketBracket, in which the winner receives prizes from Wilson.
> U.S. Open schedule
> Exclusive highlights and live streaming at Tennis-Channel.tv

Want to go mobile? There's no end to the amount of coverage on the Internet, but here are the essentials.

-USOpen.org: The official U.S. Open website offers lots of content, from player biographies, interviews, point-by-point live scoring, printable draw sheets, and player diaries (which players, we don't know yet). The site is available in French and Spanish.

- Official USOpen iPhone application: Super cool, free, easy to use, and so inclusive that it might cut traffic to USOpen.org. The app includes news, scores, the schedule, draws, video, photos, player info, official Tweets, , spectator info, and the live USOpen.org radio feed by American Express. So, if you're watching the U.S. Open on TV and see everyone listening to their iPhones, chances are they just didn't bother swinging by the American Express booth to pick up a free radio or perhaps they're not cardholders. A great reason to pick up an iPhone.