The Olympics has always been a brutally tough fit into the busy summer tennis schedule. Cheap Swingman Rockets Jerseys .This year, a variety of extenuating circumstances -- led by the looming prospect of the Zika virus -- contrived to thin the ranks of the top seeds on both sides. Half of the mens top 10, including Swiss teammates Roger Federer (knee injury) and Stan Wawrinka (Zika fears) bailed on Rio. Milos Raonic, Tomas Berdych and Dominic Thiem also excused themselves, ostensibly over health concerns.Too bad. They missed a terrific, most memorable party.Over nine days (one of them a rainout), there was plenty of anarchy. No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic was gone before the second round, and the No. 141-ranked player, Juan Martin del Potro, somehow managed to play his way into the gold-medal final.Whew. Here are five quick takeaways from the crazy carnival that ended Sunday:1. Andy Murray is suddenly The ManDont look now, but Murray appears to be the player to beat at the upcoming US Open. In 2012, he won gold at the London Olympics (beating Federer in the final), then followed it up with his first Grand Slam singles title at the US Open, dispatching Djokovic in that final. Four years later, he changed it up, winning at Wimbledon and carrying that momentum into the Rio Olympics, carrying the flag for Great Britain.With coach Ivan Lendl back in the saddle again, Murray became the first Olympic player to defend a singles title, beating del Potro in a match that lasted just north of four hours. Djokovic has won 24 of 34 career meetings with Murray, but if the Scot can get someone to do his dirty work -- Sam Querrey took down Djokovic at Wimbledon and del Potro did it in Rio -- hes got a good chance to win.2. Juan Martin del Potro is backWe saw flashes at Wimbledon, but now its official. After struggling through four wrist surgeries, Delpo is starting to look more confident with his backhand, sometimes using both hands in the heat of the moment. The forehand? Once again, its the biggest and most feared in tennis. After beating Djokovic in the first round, del Potro handled Rafael Nadal in the best match of the tournament, a 3-hour, 8-minute semifinal.After del Potro concluded his marathon against Nadal, few gave him any chance versus Murray, who advanced to the final in a match that was 108 minutes shorter. Delpo was enormous, fighting every moment of the marathon before losing in four sets. Earlier, the 27-year-old had said that the gold medal would have meant more than the 2009 US Open title.3. Novak Djokovic needs down timeAfter completing his career Grand Slam at Roland Garros -- his leading priority of 2016 -- Djokovics usually fierce emotional energy has been sometimes difficult to summon. He got bounced by Querrey in the third round at Wimbledon and, after winning in Toronto, fell to del Potro in a marvelous two-tiebreaker match. Their touching hug at net reminded us that the Olympic spirit, despite all the no-shows, is real. Now Djokovic needs to embrace the seasons last Slam, one where hes been a finalist five of the past six years.4. Rafael Nadal is far from doneIts been a season of drama for the 30-year-old Spaniard. He retired from his Miami match against Damir Dzumhur, then rallied to win titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. A wrist injury forced him to pull out of Roland Garros, where he is a nine-time champion, in the middle of the tournament, and then he missed Wimbledon.Although that left wrist still isnt quite right, Rafa said he was compelled to try to play in the Olympics. In Rio, he won gold in doubles with Marc Lopez?and blew through to the singles semifinals. Rafa, looking exhausted, fell in the bronze match to Kei Nishikori?in three sets, but he heads into New York with some serious momentum.5. Jack Sock doubles upThe 23-year-old native Nebraskan was already a Grand Slam champion coming in, as he and Vasek Pospisil beat the Bryan Brothers in the 2014 Wimbledon final. Now, Sock is coming home to Kansas City with two Olympic medals. Sock paired with Steve Johnson to win a bronze in mens doubles (beating Pospisil and Daniel Nestor) on Saturday, then took the mixed-doubles gold with Bethanie Mattek-Sands. His stock in both singles -- where hes ranked No. 23 --- and doubles has never been higher. Vincent Edwards Jersey . Neymar curled home a free kick from just outside the area to put the 2014 World Cup host ahead in the 44th minute. Three minutes after the break, a simple through pass from Paulinho freed Oscar and the Chelsea star rounded goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong to extend Brazils lead. Cheap Rockets Jerseys . The Brazilian goalkeeper signed a loan deal with the Major League Soccer club on Friday as he looks to get playing time ahead of this summers World Cup in his home country. http://www.cheaprocketsjerseys.com/?tag=...y-melton-jersey . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. RIO DE JANEIRO -- The president of cyclings world governing body defended the Olympic road course on Saturday, calling it a fair test and suggesting those who crashed pushed past their limits.Brian Cookson addressed a number of issues during a wide-ranging news conference at the Rio de Janeiro Games at the midway point of the cycling program, including doping, the schedule of the track cycling program and several road racing issues.But perhaps the biggest hot-button issue through a week of competition was a road course that some had labeled too dangerous. One particularly nasty descent caused riders such as Italian star Vincenzo Nibali to go down and left Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten in the hospital.Weve had discussions about the number of crashes and the circumstances, Cookson said. It is my belief and our belief at the UCI that the courses were in the bounds of what was reasonable.Van Vleuten spent several days in the hospital with a concussion and three small fractures to her spine. She flew home to the Netherlands on Friday to continue her recovery.Its the riders responsibility to make the right decisions, Cookson said. I went to speak with Annemiek in the hospital and talked to her, and in her case, it was an error of judgment there.Cookson was also asked about the silver medal won by Olga Zabelinskaya in the time trial. It came just days after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled a ban on Russian athletes who had been barred from competing for prior doping offenses was unenforceable, allowing Zabelinskaya to compete.The Russian cyclist who finished second in the time trial was entitled to be here under the rules of the [World Anti-Doping Agency] and the IOC, Cookson said. Im guessing she will not be the only previously convictted doped athlete at the Games. Wholesale Rockets Jerseys. .Cookson has been working to clean up the sport after years of doping, including Lance Armstrongs admission of guilt a few years ago. He said the positive test of a Brazilian cyclist in an out-of-competition test the week before the road race was a sign of progress.Ive said this many times before, cycling has been leading for many years in the fight against doping in sport, Cookson said. Whether there is a small number of athletes trying to cheat, I hope not, but if they are, we will catch them and we will sanction them.In other issues:? Cookson said the UCI is still examining the blood bags from Operation Puerto, the Spanish police investigation into a doping ring led by Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes. Cookson otherwise declined to comment on the ongoing investigation, saying only that when we have something to report, we will.??The UCI is confident WorldTour teams will compete in the team time trial at the world championships in Qatar. Several teams announced plans to boycott the event, in part because they are required to compete at their own expense.??Cookson said he was open to smaller teams in major events such as the Tour de France, but he warned that I think some of the bigger teams would object to that, and there are pros and cons to the details of that. Its something I wouldnt rule, out but lets move forward gradually.??The UCI hopes to expand the cycling program at future Olympics, though Cookson did not say whether it would be merely an expansion of the track program or the addition of another discipline, such as downhill mountain biking or freestyle BMX competition. ' ' '