Tokyo's morning rush hour probably flowed a little smoother than usual Tuesday as millions delayed their journeys after finding a TV showing a 24-year-old wielding a tennis racket on a patch of concrete in a New York suburb.
A tennis player temporarily halting the daily frenzy of life in one of Asia's heaving cities would have seemed fanciful a decade ago before Li Na became an icon for millions of Chinese sports fans with her landmark win at the 2011 French Open.
Three years on and in a season during which Li added the Australian Open title to her collection, Kei Nishikori's run to the U.S. Open final has shown that the acceleration of Asia as a tennis force is not restricted to women, even if the men are still playing catch-up.