Gäste Forum » a season.Beal, 23, averaged a career

The stakes were very different for the 24 players (singles and doubles) who earned a trip to London to compete in the World Tour Finals last week. So lets see how some of their ambitions played out in a tournament that, thanks to the round-robin format, gave each player multiple chances to prove his mettle.The winnersNo. 1 Andy Murray (5-0, def. Novak Djokovic in final)Murray won it all with an amazing display of sustained excellence that also vaulted him over Djokovic in the battle for the year-end No. 1 ranking. Given Murrays spotty record at previous World Tour Finals, this was a remarkable feat unsullied by the disappointing quality of Djokovics game.In fact, the final demonstrated just how deeply Murray had gotten into Djokovics head during the 29-year-old Scots relentless drive to the top. This was a magical final, akin to the 2000 year-ender in which Gustavo Kuerten stunned Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi in back-to-back matches to win the title and, like Murray, finish the year on top.No. 3 Milos Raonic (2-1, loss to Murray in semifinals)There were moments near the very end of Raonics dramatic battle with Andy Murray when the 25-year-old Canadians visage was almost scary -- thats how intent and focused he was. Murray won that match, but not before Raonic forced him to stare down a match point. The runner-up at Wimbledon, Raonic is the player most likely to win a Grand Slam among the contenders who havent yet won one. It isnt just that smoking hot serve and vastly improved ground game. Its his attitude.No. 8 Dominic Thiem (1-2, eliminated in round robin)Thiem thought he had blown his chance to qualify when he lost early at the Paris Masters. But his rivals for the final opening failed to capitalize, and Thiem punched his ticket to London.Although the Austrian youth won only one match (a three-setter versus Gael Monfils), he was the only player to take a set off Djokovic. Thiem also acquitted himself well against Raonic in his final, do-or-die round-robin match. Thiem, still just 23, picked up a lot of experience. He may have come in the back way, but he left London through the front door.?No. 4 doubles Henri Kontinen and John Peers (5-0, def.?Raven Klaasen?and Rajeev Ram in final)The Finnish (Kontinen) and Australian combo were torrid at the end of the year. They ended the season with a 10-match winning streak. Kontinen is bringing well-earned attention to a nation that is developing a modest but real tennis tradition, while Peers was the lone Australian player, singles or doubles, in the field.Kontinen and Peers defeated the all-French former No. 1 team of?Pierre-Hugues Herbert?and Nicolas Mahut in round-robin play, as well as the all-American, all-everything, hall-of-fame doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan in the semifinals. It just doesnt get any better in doubles, unless you want to count the $455,000 prize money the winners split.The losersNo. 2 Novak Djokovic (4-1, loss in final to Murray) Djokovic might be one of the few ATP players to welcome the brevity of tennis so-called offseason of roughly six weeks. Thats because he has a lot to ponder following his repeated collapses at critical moments in the second half of 2016. They were unexpected implosions that made his remarkable first six months seem like a distant memory.But still, all Djokovic had to do last week to retain his No. 1 year-end ranking and restore his reputation as the dominant player on the tour was keep the hard-charging Murray at bay. The O2 arena was Djokovics house (he was striving for a remarkable fifth consecutive year-end title), but Murray took a wrecking ball to it. Djokovic offered shockingly little resistance. What a costly loss.No. 5 Kei Nishikori (1-2, loss to Djokovic in semifinals) Theres no shame in having lost to Djokovic, especially not when you consider how good Djokovic looked until the title match. And finishing in the top five in the world is a great achievement. Although Nishikori can win ATP 250s and 500s until the cows come home, for some reason, he almost always shrinks back when he has a chance to make a truly resonant statement.Nishikori admitted he just wasnt ready to play Djokovic in the semis, which helps explain the 6-1, 6-1 pounding he absorbed. After lasting barely an hour against Djokovic, the 26-year-old Japanese star said he had a successful, but long and tiring, year. Guess what? So did Andy Murray. And look what he did. The surprising thing is that on a day-to-day basis, Nishikori is a skilled, tough, relentless competitor. Time to see a sports psychologist?No. 7 Gael Monfils (0-2, withdrew from round robin with injury)Monfils had the best year of his career in 2016, at age 30. Qualifying for the year-enders was a highlight, but his trip to London was a bummer from the get-go. That was partly because Monfils sustained a rib injury back during the Stockholm tournament, and it continued to trouble him in his first two round-robin pairings against Raonic and Thiem.In his final round-robin match, Monfils was scheduled to play Djokovic. But the idea of meeting Djokovic, who had won all 13 of their matches, while carrying an injury persuaded the Frenchman to withdraw from the tournament. He told reporters: You know, you work so hard for this moment, then not be able play your best, is a huge deception for me.No. 2?Pierre-Hugues Herbert?and Nicolas Mahut (0-3 in round robin)There were two battles for the year-end No. 1 ranking in London this year. In the doubles draw, Andy Murrays brother,?Jamie, and Brazils Bruno Soares were locked in a battle for the top position with the No. 1 team of Herbert and Mahut.Turns out the French guys never really showed up, going winless in London. 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The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive.The Washington Wizards and Bradley Beal are deep into talks on a maximum five-year contract approaching $130 million, sources told ESPNs Marc Stein.Sources said the sides moved swiftly into contract negotiations when free agency commenced at 12:01 a.m. ET Friday.We are working really hard to finalize an agreement, Beals agent, Mark Bartelstein, told ESPN, confirming that he and the Wizards are on track to finalize terms later Friday.A deal cant be signed until the league-wide moratorium on signings and trades is lifted July 7, but the parties can strike a verbal agreement.Beal played in a career-low 55 games (35 starts) for the Wizards this past season due to injuries, including a stress reaction in his right fibula. He has dealt with injuries over the course of his four-year career and has never played more than 73 games in a season.Beal, 23, averaged a career-high 17.4 points per game this past season. He and John Wall form one of the top backcourts in the NBA.The shooting guard turnned down a lucrative contract extension from the Wizards before the 2015-16 season, saying he felt he is a player worthy of a maximum contract.dddddddddddd feel like Im a max player, and thats what Im looking for. If Washington cant meet that requirement, then I may be thinking elsewhere, Beal also told The Washington Post in late May. Im pretty sure that they probably wont [let me go]. At the end of the day, thats where I want to be. I think a deal will probably get done, but you just never know.Beal, who earned $5.6 million the past season, is a restricted free agent, so another team could sign him to an offer sheet, and the Wizards would then have three days to match. The Wizards can ask Beal to delay signing the contract in order to maintain enough cap space to pursue other elite free agents.Information from ESPN.coms Ian Begley was used in this report. ' ' '