Bewteen August 30 and September 12, keep an eye out on those taxi tops. You just might catch the live score from the US Open 2004. The only�problem is that there will be only about a hundred such cabs in New York�City for the duration of the Open.

Speaking at the draw ceremony, held at the UN�August 25, Arlen Kantarian,�Chief Executive of the USTA, unveiled the new marketing measures that the�organization is making this year to draw even more attention to the Open - New York City's biggest annual sporting event - and to make it to the top�five sporting events of the calendar years.

Last year, the Open attracted over 650,000 visitors and had an economic�impact estimated at almost $420 million.

This year, besides, the innovation cab scores, the USTA is replicating�last year's Rockefeller Center jumbotrons - basically mammoth viewing�screens - in Harlem over Labor Day weekend to popularize the sport in�those communities.

Over 300 buses in NYC and suburban areas will have US Open ads while the�NYC Subway, MTA Metro North and Long Island Railroad will sport 2,500�posters as part of the new campaign.

The total purse this year will touch $17.7 million, and thanks to the�bonus scoring points accumulated by players from the US Open Series�tournaments earlier this year, the winner of the men's and women's singles�stand to take home more than the regular purse.

For example, Andy Roddick, who leads the bonus points standings with 155�points will take home $1.5 million while Lindsay Davenport will pocket the�same amount if she wins the women's singles title, instead of the $1 million purse under normal circumstances (Trivia: The US Open has offered equal prize money to the men's and women's champions for the past 32�years). The qualifying purse money along totals almost $1 million.

The opening night this year will also feature all the US Olympic�medallists who will be back from Athens by then. And in addition, four tennis greats - two from the open era and two from before, or the Golden Era, as the USTA calls it - will be inducted into the US Open Court of�Champions: John McEnroe, Steffi Graf, Jack Kramer and Margaret Court. The honor, which was launched last year, seeks to recognize all time greats�who have won at least one singles title at the US Open or US�Championships, with an individual permanent monument.

Also, the 660 players who will play 900 matches at this year's Open will�include 20 Grand Slam winners and will be watched by an estimated 600,000-pus audience.

A Numbers Game:

72,000: The number of balls that will be in play this year.

250: Number of ball people last year.

4: Number of inductees into the US Open Court of Champions this year.

4: Number of days it took Francesca Schavione to beat Ai Sugiyama due to rain delays in 2003.

22: Age defending champion Andy Roddick will turn August 30.

32: Number of years the US Open has offered equal prize money to mens and�womens singles winners.

55: Number of nations represented at the 2003 Open.

50: Number of states from where fans came last year.

143: Miles per hour of the fastest serve ever recorded at the Open, by Greg Rusedski

2: Number of times Rusedski sent down those rockets, in 1997 and 1999.

23,157: Number of seats in Arthur Ashe stadium, the largest in the world.

704: Number of umbrellas sold at last year's rain-lashed Open.

1: Rank of the US Open among annually-attended international sporting events.

15,200,000: Number of hits on www.usopen.org�<http://www.usopen.org> during the 2003 Open.