ERST LESEN! » I guess, conservative, if you want to put it,

The year in tennis had a dramatic split personality. It was a year of exceptional achievements by well-known players, but also a year of transition. Serena Williams made history although her grip on the womens game was convincingly loosened. The ATPs Big Four spent more time breaking down than bagging titles, yet one member completed a career Grand Slam while another became the 26th player to claim the top ranking (and just the 17th year-end No. 1 since the rankings were instituted in 1973). Other players made big impressions or fulfilled long-deferred dreams. Here are our picks for tennis players of the year:10. Karolina Pliskova (WTA No. 6)2016 accomplishments:?44-23 record; two titles, including CincinnatiIs Pliskova another Petra Kvitova or Maria Sharapova? We may learn the answer in 2017 after of a breakout season for the 24-year old Czech player. During her finest run, spanning August and early September, Pliskova defeated No. 1 Angelique Kerber in Cincinnati and lost narrowly to her in the US Open final -- that after beating Venus and then Serena Williams in earlier matches. A right-hander, Pliskova can command with her serve and has an appetite for first-strike tennis that will make her dangerous to all.9. Monica Puig (WTA No. 32)51-25; one title, at OlympicsIts difficult to overstate how much it means for a place like Puerto Rico to produce a gold medalist in a popular, international pro sport -- or to overvalue how much a story like Puigs does for the sport of tennis. She created the ultimate Cinderella story in Rio de Janeiro, defeating Grand Slam champions Garbine Muguruza and Kvitova before claiming the gold medal with a win over Kerber.8. Alexander Zverev (ATP No. 24)44-24; one title, at St. Petersburg, RussiaZverev towers above his fellow ATP #nextgen brethren, literally as well as figuratively. Hes 6-foot-6 and still just 19, yet his coordination and movement are excellent, which is why this German youngster appears to be everyones cant miss future Grand Slam champion. He has already beaten a slew of great players, including Roger Federer on the grass of Halle and Stan Wawrinka in the title match on the hard courts of St. Petersburg.7. Johanna Konta (WTA No. 10)46-22; one title, at StanfordShes the official WTA Most Improved Player of the Year after a meteoric rise that began at the US Open in the summer of 2015 and continued to gain momentum through 2016. So far, the highlight has been her win at Stanford over Venus Williams. Kontas big serve and aggressive game enabled her to become the first British woman to be ranked in the top 10 since Jo Durie 32 years ago.6. Stan Wawrinka (ATP No. 4)46-18; four titles, including US OpenNovak Djokovics problems were not yet manifest when Wawrinka stunned him in the US Open final, proving to anyone who still doubted that the new Swiss No. 1 (ahead of that Roger -- whats his name?) is a superb big-match player. The US Open final match had a profound impact on the ATP narrative for the year. Wawrinka doesnt always bring his A-game (as his modest title haul suggests), but when he does, watch out.5. Juan Martin del Potro (ATP No. 38)32-12; one title, at StockholmIf we were to pick a single Player of the Year weighing impact on the game and quality of effort more highly than full results, Delpo would probably walk away with the award hands down. At the start of the year, he wasnt sure he would ever play tennis again due to his chronic wrist injuries. By the end, he had risen 1,003 ranking spots on the computer, won his first tournament in 33 months, claimed an Olympic silver medal (after a first-round upset of Djokovic) and led Argentina to its first Davis Cup championship.4. Serena Williams (WTA No. 2)38-6; two titles, at Wimbledon and RomeWilliams played just eight tournaments in 2016, due partly to various injuries as well as a laser-like focus on major events. She was well into her 34th year when she won Wimbledon to tie Steffi Graf as the Open-eras leading singles title producer (each now has 22). The physical and emotional struggles Williams experienced in 2015 carried over into much of this year, a testament to the toll exacted by her drive over the past two years to catch Graf.3. Novak Djokovic (ATP No. 2)65-9; seven titles, including Australian Open, French Open and four ATP Masters 1000sLooking at Djokovics year as a whole tends to put much of what happened in the final three months into a better perspective. Djokovic had a remarkable timing problem this year. Immediately after he became just the eighth man in tennis history to complete a career Grand Slam, he experienced an emotional letdown -- just as Andy Murrays confidence and determination kicked into high gear. All credit to Murray, but it was rotten luck for Djokovic, too.2. Angelique Kerber (WTA No. 1)63-18; three titles, including Australian Open and US OpenThis was the surprise Serena Williams could not have expected. Kerber always has been capable of pulling off the big upset, but shed stall or withdraw from the flame in the late stages. This year, she came up huge in major events, playing three Grand Slam finals and winning two. Although she won just one other tournament (Stuttgart), her record is strewn with semifinal and final appearances.1. Andy Murray (ATP No. 1)78-9; nine titles, including Wimbledon, Olympics, ATP World Tour Finals and three ATP Masters 1000sThe numbers are dazzling. But the most impressive aspect of Murrays rise to No. 1 was the remarkable combination of stamina and resolve he showed en route to stripping the prestigious year-end No. 1 ranking from Djokovic in the last match of the year. Once cast as the guy destined always to fall one match short, Murray ended his career year with a 26-match winning streak -- and a storybook finish.Honorable mentionsATP: No. 3 Milos Raonic (52-17, one title) was the Wimbledon runner-up, is now positioned for a Grand Slam breakthrough. ... No. 20 Ivo Karlovic (32-24; two titles) had one of the best years of his career at age 37. ... No. 76 Taylor Fritz (15-22, no titles) is the other 19-year old in the top 100 (joining Zverev) and finished the season nearly 100 rankings places higher than he started it. Hes boosting the hopes of U.S. tennis.WTA: No. 7 Garbine Muguruza (35-20; one title) was brilliant in winning the French Open but stunningly unimpressive for the rest of the year. ... No. 8 Madison Keys (47-17; one title) showed signs of greater consistency and almost punched through to the elite level a few times. ... No. 26 Daria Kasatkina (36-23; no titles) is 19 and had wins this year over Pliskova, Roberta Vinci, Venus Williams and Dominika Cibulkova to improve her ranking by 49 places. Custom Packers T-shirts . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. Custom Packers Jersey China . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. http://www.custompackersjersey.com/custom-rashan-gary-jersey-large-72r.html . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Wholesale Custom Packers Shirts . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Cheap Packers Jerseys . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game. ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Bills safety Aaron Williams was too excited to return to practice for the first time in nearly a month to worry about the potential long-term effects his latest head injury might have on his career.Honestly, it probably does have an effect on the future, Williams said at his locker Tuesday.But am I thinking about that? No. I cant think about that because if I think about it, its going to happen, he added. I love this game to the bottom of my heart, and would do anything to keep playing.The sixth-year player acknowledged he needs to play smarter to reduce the risk of head injuries.Williams was cleared to practice, and coach Rex Ryan said the starter is ready to go for Buffalos season opener at Baltimore on Sunday.Williams has been out since sustaining a concussion on Aug. 11, when he collided with receiver Dez Lewis during a team drill at training camp.The injury came on the heels of Williams having season-ending neck surgery in which doctors shaved two disks to alleviate nerve damage. He was hurt while diving headfirst in an attempt to tackle Patriots receiver Julian Edelman in Week 2.The collision with Lewis happened when Williams was trying to break up a pass over the middle.Williams called it a freak accident, and said his first concern was whether he re-injured his neck.I couldnt really tell you what I was thinking or what was going on in my mind because the whole time my head was ringing, Williams said. I was trying to make sure that my neck was actually good. I was more concerned about my neck than I was my head.Williams previously acknowledged he would not have returned to play this season if doctors informed him there was any risk of aggravating the neck injury.He is also taking steps to alter his tacklling technique so his head and neck are less exposed.dddddddddddd Williams did that by leaning on the advice of former NFL star safety and first-year Bills defensive backs assistant Ed Reed.Williams said Reed provided numerous pointers while going over practice and game film.He said, `You like to hit too many times for unnecessary reasons, Williams said. But I never knew that because I only knew one way to play, and that was to stop the person who had the ball no matter what the repercussions are.That doesnt mean Williams intends to play cautiously.I wont play, I guess, conservative, if you want to put it, Williams said. I only know one speed to play and thats full speed. And I told coach Im ready to go.Right tackle Seantrel Henderson returned to practice after missing last week for an undisclosed reason. Without going into detail, Henderson said his absence was related to having offseason surgery on his intestines to relieve the effects of Crohns disease.Henderson was out since making his preseason debut in playing 41 of 77 snaps in a 21-16 loss at Washington on Aug. 26.Henderson said hes feeling normal and everything checked out fine.Game notes RB LeSean McCoy practiced after being excused for the start of the session for personal reasons. ... Buffalo signed receiver and return specialist Brandon Tate, a week after he was cut by Cincinnati. Tate fills the roster spot left open by FB Dan Vitale, who was released Sunday after failing his physical. ... Buffalo signed CB Marcus Roberson, LB Carlos Fields and S Damian Parms to its practice squad.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '