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. Swell Wood Bottle Uk . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. SWell Marble Bottle Uk . 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. http://www.ukswellbottle.com/ . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. Swell Bottle Uk Stockist . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Cheap Swell Bottles .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. After a wild weekend at Baltusrol, the last major of the PGA Tour season is officially behind us and all eyes are turning toward the FedEx Cup playoffs. There are only a few more opportunities for players to accumulate enough points to position themselves to make a run at a spot at the Barclays in late August, and as golfers put their best efforts into making that final push, our fantasy golf experts are here to share which players are most likely to set themselves apart this week at the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands.The expert panel is comprised of ESPN.coms Bob Harig and Will Harris;?FantasyGolfInsiders Jeff Bergerson, Zach Turcotte, Taras Pitra and Jason Rouslin; and DailyFantasyBootCamp.coms David Jayne.Note: Golfer salaries listed are for DraftKings.Bob Harig -- Bubba Watson ($12,300)Its tough to pick against the defending champion, even though he has been off since March when he won and finished second in consecutive tournaments. His only top-10 finish since that point is a tie for eighth at a European Tour event in China. Still, Watson loves the Travelers Championship, where he has won twice, along with second- and fourth-place finishes. He could use the Ryder Cup points boost, too.Will Harris -- Keegan Bradley ($7,600)The U.S. Open was Bradleys eleventh missed cut in 19 starts this season, but since then hes made three straight while flashing a sharper greenside stroke to go with tee-to-green skills that have him leading the Tour in total driving and ninth in GIR. The forward-trending Bradley is 5-for-5 at TPC Highlands, with an opening round 64 in last years event.Jeff Bergerson -- Justin Thomas ($7,800)As far as cut-making goes, Thomas is elite this year -- hes only missed two cuts since January. He has also shown upside, with third place finishes at The Honda Classic and Players Championship as well as a win in the fall season at the CIMB Classic. He doesnt have a tremendous amount of experience at TPC River Highlands, but he did finish 30th on this course in 2013. I feel like his $7,800 price tag presents a lot of value, and he can be used as a great cash game or GPP play this week.Zachary Turcotte -- Tyrrell Hatton ($7,700)Few golfers in the world are playing at the level of Tyyrell Hatton right now.dddddddddddd The 24-year-old out of England is having his best season as a professional, with only two missed cuts in 16 starts and six top-10 finishes, including three in a row entering the Travelers Championship. He drives it just over 290 yards on average off the tee, hits about 70 percent of greens In regulation on the European Tour and sports an above-average putter. Fortunately, for fantasy owners, Hatton has not made enough of a splash in the U.S. to see his salary rise too high at this point, which gives us a great opportunity to lock him in this week at the bargain price of $7,700.Taras Pitra -- Brendan Steele ($8,500)Steeles been a pretty chalky play in weaker field events, and this week will be no different. Id expect his ownership to be fairly high in GPPs, which makes sense considering his course history (25th - fifth - 13th - MC - 13th). He only missed the cut by two strokes at the PGA, so hopefully that scares off some others that only look at form. Either way, he seems to play well here and should be considered for all formats.Jason Rouslin -- Keegan Bradley ($7,600)A late-year surge from Bradley, as it seems hes figured out how to putt again. Joining Webb Simpson and using the Matt Kuchar-led tactic, his putting has been much more consistent and the results are showing in his game. Hes 3-of-3 in his last three starts and has never missed a cut here in 5 tries; I like Bradley to have one of his best showings of the year.David Jayne -- Ryan Moore ($7,800)It has been a relatively quiet summer for Moore, who over the last four months is without a top-25 finish. Hes played better of late, though, making his last four cuts after a string of three missed in a row. Returning to TPC River Highlands should give him a boost of confidence, as he has finished inside the top-13 in six of his nine starts at the Travelers. Moore is one of the shortest hitters off the tee, but unlike recent months he will benefit, on this 6,841 yard track, from being able to use short irons to approach these greens -- something that cant be said for his last seven events. ' ' '