WIMBLEDON -- Three hours before Fridays Centre Court match, Juan Martin del Potro strolled through the deserted grounds.On his way to the practice courts, the 6-foot-6 Argentine laughed with two members of his team, waggling his plastic-wrapped racket with his left hand.He didnt seem to have a care in the world. In truth, no current player with his extraordinary skill set has suffered more heartache as a result of his own fragile body.Since winning the US Open seven years ago, del Potro has endured no fewer than four surgeries on his left and right wrists. It has been three years since he last played here, reaching the 2013 semifinals at the All England Club.Im enjoying tennis again, del Potro said after winning his first match earlier this week. Im starting to talk about tennis and no more about my wrist. Thats important.Incredibly, with very little ramp-up, del Potros wrist and tennis are both officially top-10 ready. He scorched/stunned/slammed No. 4 seed Stan Wawrinka 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3 to advance to the third round. Wawrinka is the highest seed to exit the mens tournament thus far.To say he is ahead of schedule would be a gross understatement.Del Potros hands were still shaking when he stepped off the court and into the BBC interview area. He called it his most emotional victory ever.It feels amazing sensation for me at the moment, del Potro said with feeling. I beat one of the guys whos playing great tennis. I couldnt expect this victory today. I am very, very happy.It was a delicious and uncommon second-round matchup between two former Grand Slam champions, given del Potros layoff-induced ATP ranking of No. 165. While Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have monopolized the majors, winning 43 singles titles, these are two of the other four active players to experience a Slam victory.Del Potros formidable right-handed forehand -- the one that unstrung Federer in that 2009 US Open final -- can still be, quite literally, breathtaking. In a first-round match against Stephane Robert, del Potros first Grand Slam appearance in 29 months, it sometimes drew gasps from the knowledgeable crowd on Court 12.Del Potros flat, two-handed backhand was once one of the games best. Now, it is a ghost, a drastically reduced one-handed shot that is invariably sliced. There are times when, under duress, he instinctively uses both hands, but you can feel his hesitation, his fear of a relapse.Im not having all my confidence on my backhands yet, he allowed. And thats tough when you play against the top guys because they are so good players and they are strong enough to play in the fifth set matches. Im expecting be better in the future, but for this year, my biggest challenge could be finish healthy and ready to make a good preparation for the next year.Against Wawrinka, del Potros serve and the forehand were in vintage form. Forty percent of del Potros serves were unreturnable. His fastest serve: 135 mph. In two matches, he has hit 26 forehand winners -- against only one on the backhand side.As we all said, its great for the tennis to see him back, a disconsolate Wawrinka said in his postmatch news conference. You see already, he beat some good players. His backhand is still struggling because he cannot play completely, but on this grass the slice is still difficult.In the first set, he squandered two break-point opportunities but converted one of two in the second. In the third, he played a pristine tiebreaker, while Wawrinka melted down, throwing in a double fault and a bad forehand error at the end.After my third surgery, I was really sad, sitting at home, del Potro said. This is like my second or third career in my life, and now I am enjoying. Its a great sensation for me, and I feel alive.I could not expect to be in third round of Wimbledon after three years. And now to the end [of the tournament], everything is very positive. I am in a good way to be[ing] 100 percent.Del Potro slipped and fell near the end of the first set and stayed down along the baseline for a minute or so. Slowly unspooling his long body, he gingerly got to his feet. Thats how most people thought it was going to be this year for del Potro.Rather, this result is a bolt of lightning for mens tennis. If he can beat a two-time major champion with one hand tied behind his back, what will he do with two healthy hands?At 27, del Potro is still relatively young; Wawrinka won his first Grand Slam, the 2014 Australian Open, two months shy of his 29th birthday and his second, last years French Open, at 30.For now, he will continue to fight the urge to be aggressive.I believe on myself, I believe on my wrist, del Potro said. I would like to get better faster than Im doing now, but that could be dangerous for my body. Im working hard mentally, too, because I have to deal with some pains and some frustrations when I want to hit a good backhands and I cannot do it.I hope to be ready for being aggressive player on next season. Nikita Kucherov Lightning Jersey . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. Cedric Paquette Lightning Jersey . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/Brayden-Point-Jersey/ . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. Ryan Callahan Lightning Jersey . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. Vincent Lecavalier Jersey . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. RIO DE JANEIRO -- The odds are good the U.S. will win the gold medal count once again in the Olympics.The odds are even better this year that there will be some money bet on it.Bookmakers in Las Vegas are making the U.S. the favorite to defend the gold medal crown from the London Olympics, with an over/under of 43.5 gold medals for the Americans. China is the only other country close to the U.S., with bookies putting that countrys gold medal line at 36.Its the first time since the 2000 Olympics in Sydney that bettors in Nevada have been able to put money on the games. So far, they havent exactly caught Olympic fever.Weve probably had 10 people come to the counter to bet it, said Jimmy Vaccaro, who sets odds at the South Point hotel sports book.Bookies who can usually pick the spread for an NFL game within a point or two off the top of their head have had to educate themselves on some unfamiliar sports that in any other year would not even attract the attention of bettors looking to make a score.Its easy enough to make Michael Phelps a favorite in most of his races, and for Usain Bolt to add three more golds to his growing collection. Not terribly difficult to pick the home country, Brazil, in both mens and womens volleyball, either.But making a line on things like Hyvin Jepkemoi of Kenya to win the 3,000-meter steeplechase (shes an even money favorite) is a little tougher. So is figuring out that Germanys Thomas Rohler should be a 5-4 favorite in the javelin.And with real money at stake, there is little room for error.If you put up something thats a weak line or make a mistake the sophisticated guys will be all over it, said Johnny Avello, who runs the sports book at the Wynn. They turn into good bettors if you have something wrong.Its pretty much a foregone concluusion the U.ddddddddddddS. mens and womens basketball teams will romp their way to gold. The U.S. women are so dominant that they are a staggering 57.5 point favorite to beat Senegal in their opening game, and you would have to wager $200 to win just $10 if you like either team to win the gold.Just as dominant is American gymnast Simone Biles, who could be the biggest star of the Rio Games. Biles is a 2-1 favorite to win the balance beam and the floor exercises, a co-favorite along with North Koreas Hong Un Jong to win the vault, and a big favorite to win the all around.She and her teammates are also whopping 22-1 picks to bring home the womens team gold.Since most sports rarely appear on an oddsmakers radar, they wont risk the house by taking huge bets. Avello said he would take a couple of dimes ($2,000) on most bets, while most books limit bets to half that.Betting on the Olympics is nothing new. Betting parlors in Britain did good business four years ago for the London Olympics, and have posted odds for years on both big and obscure events at the games.But bettors in the U.S. have been shutout since the 2000 Olympics because of an agreement Nevada gaming authorities made not to offer betting on amateur sports. The prohibition was lifted in Nevada last year, though, and bookies were quick to post odds.So far, though, the action has been minimal, mostly what Kornegay calls grocery store bets of $10 and $20.If America gets into the hype of the coverage maybe it will be more, he said. But I think people watch the Olympics more than they bet them. If Serbia plays Croatia in volleyball or something like that I dont think well get any bets. ' ' '