Some smart camera and director work by the ESPN broadcast crew had tennis fans smiling early on in the US Open men's singles final.

Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows was filled to capacity with fans and celebrities all there to watch Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton fight for the final Grand Slam title of the year.

Stars in the world of entertainment and sport all gathered for the marquee sporting event, including one who fans recognized from a notable spy movie series.

Pierce Brosnan, who played fictional spy James Bond across four movies in the series, is well known for his time as 007.

So, when the cameras for the US Open showed the time elapsed clock at 0:07, the broadcast then slowly dissolved to an image of Brosnan taking in the match.

Fans noticed, with the US Open account even praising it and calling it 'absolute cinema' - despite misidentifying the transition as a 'pan' and not a 'dissolve'.

Still, fans praised the team behind the game for their wit in the broadcast.

'Whoever directed that deserves the trophy,' joked one user.

Another said, 'D*** that's the good one!'

'I bet the camera director and camera guy were smiling big after pulling this off,' read one comment. 

Another said, 'give the camera operator a raise and give it to them by the end of business day today.'

American tennis fans were left upset at the result of the match as Zverev held off Shelton in four sets.

Zverev won his second Grand Slam of the year, beating Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-2 in New York.