invulnerability has faded.Juan Martin del Potro will go de

Weve embarked on tennis offseason, but just to keep things in perspective, consider this: The time between the end of the 2016 Davis Cup competition and the start of ATP World Tour play on Jan. 4, 2017, is almost exactly the same as the length of Novak Djokovics break earlier this year between Wimbledon and his next tournament appearance.The new year in tennis is a fresh start in only one significant way: psychologically. It isnt even relevant rankings-wise because of the rolling system that refreshes every week over a 52-week period.But never discount the importance of mental factors, which is why everyone, including tennis players, tends to look at Jan. 1 as a time to make a new start, to do better, to adopt and keep resolutions. This helps explain why the Australian Open, Januarys Grand Slam event, so often serves up unexpected results.Here are five surprising performances we could see next month in Melbourne:Milos Raonic will win the tournament.Nobody is quite as ready for a Grand Slam breakthrough as this 25-year old Canadian. Now No. 3 in the rankings, Raonic won just one event in 2016 (Brisbane, an ATP 250 tuneup for the Australian Open). But he was a Wimbledon finalist and routinely lifts his game at the majors. Raonic gave Andy Murray all he could handle before bowing in five sets in the 2016 Australian Open semis.Unlike some of the other players on the best to never win a Slam list, Raonic isnt an older habitual also-ran, like a Tomas Berdych or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, nor subject to shrinking away from big opportunities, like a Kei Nishikori. Raonic has had bad luck with injuries and tough draws, and hes lost some very close key matches against the top players. After losing the Wimbledon final to Murray he said, This ones going to sting. He is primed.Neither Angelique Kerber nor Serena Williams will win.Kerber is in a unique position. She proved through 2016 that she can handle the pressure that goes with becoming the top player by finishing No. 1 for the year. The pressure is off -- so off that Kerber, whos always blown hot and cold, may be hard-pressed to find her motivation.Williams is 35 and just one Grand Slam away from breaking a tie with Steffi Graf to become the Open eras most prolific major singles titlist. Shes been having a great time since last September, expanding her social life, hobnobbing with celebrities, posting open letters on Facebook. What she has not done is hit a tennis ball under competitive conditions since she lost in the semifinals of the US Open.Williams was in the same situation in 2016 and still made the final in Melbourne. But its a year later at a time when the toll on her body is greater, the opponents are tougher and her aura of invulnerability has faded.Juan Martin del Potro will go deeper than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.Del Potro wrote one of the great feel-good stories of 2016. He mounted a spectacular comeback following a series of wrist injuries and surgeries that essentially ruined his career following his triumph at the 2009 US Open. At that tournament, he defeated Nadal and Federer back-to-back to win his lone major.Federer is now 35, and Nadal is 30. Ranked Nos. 16 and 9, respectively, both are coming back from long injury-induced layoffs. Wouldnt it be ironic if No. 38 del Potro met and defeated them in successive matches again -- preferably in the second week. Yikes!Madison Keys will challenge for the title if she can get past early-round jitters.The big opportunity may come in the form of a match point against Kerber, an upset of Williams or a draw that opens up like a superhighway to the final. If she can get some traction early, Keys could win her first Slam.Look for last years seeding bloodbath -- just nine WTA seeds, five of them top 10, limped into the round of 16 -- to be repeated. The game remains unsettled, and Keys gained a lot of valuable experience last year. Her ability to stay the course for a seven-match title drive remains in doubt, but keep in mind shes still just 21.Andy Murrays seven-year streak of reaching at least the quarterfinals will come to a grinding halt.One scripted storybook moment for Murray could have been a win over Melbourne nemesis Djokovic in the 2017 Australian Open final, bringing with it the No. 1 ranking. Instead, the crescendo occurred early and with an even greater prize: the prestigious year-end No. 1 ranking for 2016.Murray, 29, rode a 26-match winning streak into the offseason. His efforts must have been draining, physically and emotionally. Expect him to be vulnerable Down Under. Cheap Jordans From China .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. Cheap Jordan Shoes From China .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. http://www.cheapjordanfreeshipping.com/ . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. Wholesale Jordan Shoes China . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Cheap Jordan Wholesale Shoes . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Courtney Vandersloot scored 21 points with 13 assists, Jessica Breland had 20 points and 16 rebounds, and the Chicago Sky beat the Atlanta Dream 108-98 on Sunday to advance to the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs.The Sky broke it open in the first five minutes of the third quarter. Tamera Young made fast-break layups on consecutive possessions during Chicagos 10-2 run to start the quarter for a 66-52 lead. Atlanta was outscored 31-20 in the quarter.Chicago cruised in the fourth -- setting a season-high for total points -- and will face Los Angeles in a best-of-five series.Reigning MVP Elena Delle Donne missed her sixth straight game with a thumb injury for Chicago but it didnt seem to faze the Sky on the offensive end. Chicago had 26 assistts, made 55 percent of its shots, and Young and Cappie Pondexter each scored 16 points.ddddddddddddChicago set a WNBA record for the most points in the first quarter of a playoff game when the Sky built a 37-25 lead. But Angel McCoughtry kept the Dream within 56-50 at halftime after scoring 21 points, including 10 of Atlantas first 14 points.Tiffany Hayes, who didnt play in the first round due to a one-game suspension for accrued technical in the regular season, scored 30 points for Atlanta. McCoughtry finished with 27 points, six rebounds and nine assists.Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler was in attendance wearing a Cubs jersey. ' ' '