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Only one story crafted in mens tennis this year can compete with the compelling saga Andy Murray authored in the second half of 2016. That was the narrative created by Novak Djokovic. Call it the great unraveling.The final chapters in both tales were written Sunday, when Murray and Djokovic met in the ATP World Tour finals, the first time both participants in the final match of the year would determine the year-end No. 1 ranking. Murray won it 6-3, 6-4.It was a happy ending for Murray and, of course, a doleful one for Djokovic -- for he just hasnt been the same player in the second half of 2016.Tonight, Andy and I were both part of history, Djokovic graciously allowed on court during the trophy presentation. Hes the best player in the world; hes No. 1 and deserves it.?Before the halfway mark in June, Djokovic completed his historic career Grand Slam at the French Open, giving him possession of all four major titles.By that time, Djokovics rankings lead over No. 2 Murray had swollen to about 8,000 points, which is four Grand Slam singles titles worth. But soon thereafter, things went sideways on Djokovic. Just as talk of a calendar-year Grand Slam was beginning to rev up, Djokovic stumbled out of Wimbledon in the third round. He had just one good tournament, at least by the standard he has set for himself, after that.Elements of the great unraveling seem like fodder for a book on life lessons. After his Wimbledon loss, Djokovic alluded to personal problems. Those werent the kind of difficulties that would generate a lot of sympathy from most people, but they did lead to Djokovic doing some serious soul-searching. He spoke about evolving as a human being, but he also began backsliding as a tennis player.The theory, often advanced by Djokovic himself, had been that his life was extremely well-balanced, even as it was dominated by his ambitions in tennis. It had begun to fray. He took losses. They were marked by anxious, impatient or unexpectedly inconsistent play. He didnt win a singles title after the Canada Masters, where a kind draw kicked up nobody more threatening than No. 6 Kei Nishikori in the final.The Summer Olympic Games is where the great unraveling really picked up pace. A fervent Serbian patriot, Djokovic was unlucky to draw Argentinas resurgent Juan Martin del Potro in the first round in Rio de Janeiro. Djokovic wept after he was beaten in two tiebreakers and laid the blame partly on an injured wrist. But that wrist had been able to get him into the two tiebreakers that he lost.Ive just been through so much emotions in the first six months, Djokovic said in his postmatch press conference in Rio, reflecting on the French Open win and a loaded calendar. I needed some time to really take it all in, digest it. But I didnt have that time. I had to a few weeks later be on the court right away. I guess that all had its toll.Through the early fall, it remained difficult to imagine Djokovic in true danger of losing his preeminent place. But even as Murray closed in, Djokovic stuck to his lean schedule, playing just the two Masters events, while Murray piled up the wins. It might have been a strategic mistake.Murray discouraged talk of his chances to earn the No. 1 ranking, until he had it in the bag after winning the Paris Masters. He insisted it wasnt a goal. If he had a window, he frequently said, it might be in the early part of 2017. He kept reminding everyone that Djokovic was the most dangerous indoor hard-court player on earth and the favorite to win the World Tour Finals for an outrageous fifth consecutive time.And though Murray kept winning, Djokovic did nothing. In his spare time, Djokovic brought in Pepe Imaz, a Spanish gurulike apostle of peace and love who had once played in the tennis minor leagues. His influence over Djokovic now is considerable. (In his news conference on Sunday, Djokovic declined to address the future of his coaching relationships with tried-and-true confidants Boris Becker and Marian Vajda.)Still, Murrays prospects were grim. He was a tepid 11-11 at the Tour Finals and had escaped the round-robin stage just twice. (He had never made the final.) All Djokovic had to do was earn one more win than Murray in London, whether in round robin or later, and he would close the season as No. 1.Going into last week, Djokovic led the rivalry 24-10 and had never lost to Murray on indoor hard courts (5-0). As the week unfolded, Murray kept up in the win column, but he struggled through what became two of the three longest three-set matches played on the ATP tour this year -- the longest (3 hours, 38 minutes) the day before the final.Djokovic, meanwhile, lost the first set he played in London, then he crushed everyone and everything in his path through the semis.But against Murray, Djokovics confidence sputtered. The few times it looked like Djokovic might get traction, Murray threw oil under his wheels or Djokovic slid back.Its required from a player to come out on the court in these particular occasions, playing top guys, to come out with his top game, Djokovic said. I wasnt closest to that. There was no serious chance for me to win todays match. From the very beginning, we could see that.Its a strange confession, especially the last sentence. It sounds as if Djokovic was resigned to the outcome long before such pessimism was justified.Cop-out, burnout -- or a little bit of both? Has the great unraveling ended?Djokovic has plenty of time now to digest what happened in 2016, but just how it will sit in his stomach is easy to imagine. Cheap Australia Jerseys . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. Cheap Juventus FC Jerseys . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. http://www.cheapsoccerjerseysoutlet.com/?tag=cheap-atletico-madrid-fc-jerseys . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Cheap Germany Jerseys . 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 Inter Milan FC Jerseys . On June 12, just as the sun sets on the magnificent historical city of Sao Paulo the inventors, innovators and purveyors of “joga bonitowill” open their campaign. The opponent, Croatia and all its football might and will. As opposites do attract we are set for a corker of an opener.ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A matchup of Cy Young Award winners ended in a walk-off walk -- and another loss for the Blue Jays. Brad Lincoln walked Luke Scott with two outs in the 10th inning Thursday night to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 5-4 victory over Toronto. Scott fell behind 0-2 in the count before taking four straight balls from Lincoln. The Rays loaded the bases on Evan Longorias double off Aaron Loup (1-3) and two walks. "You shouldnt lose games like that," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "Its not always the easiest thing to do, but you need to throw strikes. If you get beat, let them hit their way to victory." The game featured a rare matchup of reigning Cy Young Award winners, but neither Rays lefty David Price nor Toronto knuckleballer R.A. Dickey were involved in the decision. It was only the third time since the Cy Young has been awarded in both leagues that reigning winners have faced each other the following season. Dickey allowed three runs and five hits, walked five and struck out five in six innings. He left with a 4-3 lead that Steve Delabar relinquished by giving up a solo homer to the first batter he faced, ex-Blue Jay Yunel Escobar, leading off the seventh. The five walks were a season high for Dickey, who won the National League Cy Young Award with the New York Mets last season. "Im kind of falling into the pattern of a traditional knuckleballer where theres less than a hit per inning but you have a lot of walks and some strikeouts," said Dickey, who has not won in his last four starts. "Im much more efficient usually and Ive got to try to figure out a way to repeat my delivery in a way that will help me throw more strikes." Price worked eight innings, yielding four runs (two earned) and seven hits. Scott singled with the potential go-ahead run on second base and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but Longoria was thrown out trying to score. Jose Bautista drove in two runs with a double and a sacrifice fly for Toronto. IIt was his throw to the plate from right field that prevented the Rays from taking the lead in the eighth.dddddddddddd Kyle Farnsworth (2-0) pitched one inning for the win. Dickey won a career-best 20 games last season and was traded to Toronto in December. Price edged Justin Verlander in balloting for the 2012 AL Cy Young Award after becoming Tampa Bays first 20-game winner. Neither pitcher has been nearly as effective this year. They entered Thursday night with a combined three victories, and the Rays had lost six of the previous seven games that Price started. "Thats probably the way its supposed to end up when you get two Cy Young winners and you get no-decisions," Gibbons said. "I guess its the baseball gods or something." After winning the first two games of the four-game series, the Blue Jays had to settle for a 2-2 split. They missed a chance to win their first series at Tropicana Field since April 6-8, 2007, and remained four games behind the fourth-place Rays in the AL East. "Its just sad," said Dickey, "because you pour your heart and soul into the game and it doesnt always end up in a win. Were not maybe playing the smartest baseball, but were playing hard. Weve got to tighten up some things probably. I need to go one more inning to save our bullpen ... so thats on me. But well figure it out." NOTES: The Blue Jays optioned LHP Ricky Romero to Triple-A Buffalo, designated RHP Edgar Gonzalez for assignment and purchased the contracts of RHP Mickey Storey and RHP Ramon Ortiz from Buffalo. ... LHP J.A. Happ will not throw for a week because of the sprained knee he suffered after getting hit in the head by a line drive Tuesday night. Happ, whose skull was fractured, will probably pitch a game or two in a rehab assignment before returning to the Toronto rotation. ... 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