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. Cheap Angels Jerseys . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. Cheap Angels Jerseys China . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. http://www.cheapangelsjerseys.com/ . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. Cheap Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Jerseys . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Cheap CJ Wilson Jersey . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach.The Vancouver Canucks signed a trio of restricted free agents on Wednesday, locking up forwards Jordan Schroeder, Dale Weise and defenceman Yann Sauve. Schroeder split the 2012-13 season with the Canucks and AHL Chicago Wolves. In his NHL debut season, he posted nine points and four penalty minutes in 31 games played. He finished fourth on the Wolves in goal scoring with 112 goals and added 21 assists in 42 games.dddddddddddd The club avoided arbitration with Weise, signing him to a one-year, $750,000 deal. In 40 games last season, the 24-year-old recorded three goals and three assists. Sauve, 23, split the 2012.13 season with the Chicago Wolves and the ECHL Kalamazoo Wings. In 17 games with the Wolves, he posted two assists and 10 penalty minutes. ' ' '