The New York Times Hits a Grand Slam with Flex

The U.S. Open, the final grand slam tennis tournament of the year -- and the largest sporting event in tennis --  begins on Monday, August 30. To mark the occasion, Kathy Ryan, director of photography at The New York Times Magazine, commissioned the photographer Dewey Nicks to shoot some of the top players in women's tennis with the new Phantom Flex camera. When it goes on sale next week, the Flex will be the fastest high-definition camera on the market. The Magazine is the first to use the Flex for an editorial assignment. Miki Meek, the magazine's web producer, and Stacey Baker, deputy photo editor, helped produce the amazing imagery. See more after the jump...

ABOVE TOP, Nicks' photo of Elena Dementieva; ABOVE, Nicks' photo of Samantha Stosur

Nicks and his crew photographed seven players in Cincinnati and Los Angeles using both 35mm film for the print magazine and the Flex for these online videos. Because the Flex shoots up to 1,455 frames per second at 4-megapixel resolution, it enables viewers to see as no spectator can how Samantha Stosur's muscles move as she hits a volley and what goes into one of Kim Clijsters's sliding splits as she reaches for a wide forehand.

Check out these amazing videos on The New York Times site here.