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The Australian Open saw Novak Djokovic hold off an eventually spirited challenge from Andy Murray to claim his 11th career major, but what did we learn from 2016’s first Grand Slam?Djokovic downs Murray Report as world number one claims Grand Slam number 11 Will the big four still be in place by the 2017 Australian Open? We asked Sky Sports expert Barry Cowan to assess the major talking points from the Melbourne Slam.Heres what Cowan expects to see in the season ahead… Will Djokovic complete a clean sweep of Grand Slams?Hes the best clay court player, the best grass court player, and the best hard court player. Hes head-and-shoulders above everyone. But we dont know what the rest of 2016 holds. Does he get an injury? Does he suffer a surprising loss that affects his confidence? The Wizard of Oz A look at Djokovics six Melbourne victories Hes entering his peak and has areas of his game that can get better. But mentally he is at the top of his sport. There are very few people that have an aura and can smell fear, come out of the traps and impose themselves. His self-belief has rocketed.As is the case with any great sportsmen or women, they dont let leads go. Andy Murray played well in the second and third sets of the Australian Open final but the damage had been done because he was chasing.Is time running out for Federer to win a 18th Grand Slam?Hes playing great tennis - its as good now as its ever been. But his belief that he can beat Djokovic is getting lower and lower with every passing match between them. I was disappointed in how Federer approached the semi-final against Djokovic - he was reactive and cant keep a high level of performance sustained for a long period. Roger Federer acknowledges the crowd after losing his semi-final against Novak Djokovic The competition above Federer has increased because Novak is playing tennis like weve never seen before and it makes the top guys uncomfortable. Its different to how Roger and Pete Sampras played.Roger hasnt shown me anything in the last year in the really big matches that he can play free-flowing tennis under pressure against Novak. Until he does that, Novak will start every match between them as the favourite.Can Raonic repeat his impressive run to the semi-final?Hes someone I always felt would win a Slam. I doubted myself three months ago but you have to look at the bigger picture. Milos Raonic is an improving force in the mens game He has an incredible serve and a great forehand. At 6 5 he can impose his game on the best players. Above all, he has an attitude where he wants to be the best. The turning point was a few years ago against Murray when he was taken to the cleaners, he realised that the way he was trying to play wasnt productive against the big four.He plays a different style of tennis from the top guys - hes coming to the net more, hes aggressive although his backhand is improving, it is still a weakness against the best. Hell be back in the worlds top eight and theres no reason why he cant consistently be in the latter stages of Grand Slams. Petchey: Murray closer Andy Murray is within touching distance of Novak Djokovic How can Murray keep pace with Djokovic?Andys in a great place, he did tremendously well to reach the final after the emotions of the past two weeks. To beat him, you have to play your very best for three out of five sets.But Murray must find other ways in his game to make life uncomfortable against Novak. He cant beat Novak at his own game. Can he do that? Absolutely, hes done it before to win the US Open and Wimbledon finals. He leaves no stone unturned in his power to become the best player he can possibly be.And finally… Jamie Murray is a Grand Slam winner.Third-time lucky for Jamie, brilliant. Hes riding high, hes now No 2 in the world in doubles. There was a risk when he changed partners. I wondered if it was worth that risk but it absolutely has been. They combine styles and it helps that theyve been friendly off the court for a number of years.Theres a gap at the top of the doubles game. No team have been able to dominate the past couple of years, the Bryan brothers are on the slide - theyre not as good as they were. Jamie has his first mens Slam under his belt and it should be an unbelievable year for him and Soares. Britains Jamie Murray (L) and Brazils Bruno Soares pose with the trophy after victory in the Australian Open mens doublesAlso See:The Wizard of OzPetchey: Murray in touching distanceDjokovic victorious in MelbourneThe Djokovic yearsJason Taylor Youth Jersey . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. Larry Csonka Womens Jersey . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-Mark-Duper-Jersey/ . -- In a span of seven Washington Redskins offensive plays, Justin Tuck sacked Robert Griffin III four times. Mark Clayton Jersey . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. Mark Duper Jersey . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer.James Harden is not often accused of being the most athletic player in the NBA. The sport scientists at the P3 Applied Sports Science group in Santa Barbara, California, are here to tell you, however, that in some very specific ways, Harden is an elite NBA athlete.Andrew Wiggins is commonly understood to pass every test of athleticism you could throw at an NBA player. The P3 group isnt about to refute that sentiment. But they will tell you Wiggins may be the most athletic player theyve ever tested.?Whats more, P3s scientists have uncovered the reality that in some very specific ways, Harden and Wiggins are similarly unique, and their distinct movement skills have manifested themselves within their effective -- though different -- styles of play.Dr. Marcus Elliott, a Harvard-trained physician, founded P3 to bring a science-driven approach to elite athletic performance. The P3 group collects literally thousands of data points on each athlete that walks through its doors -- a population that includes more than 300 athletes with NBA experience.?When Harden, Wiggins, or any other athlete goes to P3 for testing, they are wired up as if they were models for the latest version of NBA2K, while cameras capture their motion and metal force plates measure the impact of each movement. Instead of creating the next best video game, the goal is simply to quantify aspects of athleticism that, to this point, have remained largely qualitative.?After assessing an athlete, P3 uses those thousands of data points to create a profile of the athlete based on their individual strengths and weaknesses in comparison to the hundreds of NBA athletes in the database.The deeper tests of athleticism have provided athletes -- and the teams that might employ them -- with a much deeper understanding of what their physical skills and limitations are, and how those skills translate to their on-court performance.?In Hardens case, his athletic profile is very similar to the average NBA guard assessed. Looking at high-level performance metrics, he is generally right in the middle of the pack. Still, despite lacking obvious, elite athletic qualities, Harden has made a career out of keeping the defense off-balance -- creating space when it suits him and drawing the defender into a foul when the opportunity presents itself.He has astoundingly consistent spikes in metrics associated with a single characteristic -- braking, Elliott says of Harden. He has the best all-around NBA braking system weve ever measured.?Simply put, Harden exhibits an almost unparalleled ability to quickly slam on the brakes. When having athletes complete the Standing Vertical leap -- an NBA and NFL combine staple -- P3 measures not just the height that the athletes can leap, but the force they generate at different phases of the jump. As Harden prepares to jump, he creates more force tthan all but 2 percent of NBA athletes in P3s database.dddddddddddd According to P3, an athletes ability to generate force during this phase of the jump is at least part of what gives Harden an elite ability to stop and change direction.On the court, Harden has learned to utilize this elite skill to his extreme advantage. In a sense, despite lacking superior top-end speed, his first-class ability to apply the brakes becomes its own physical advantage with the ball in his hands. When driving to the basket, Harden can change the path of his attack like no one else. When he stops and changes direction, he is already several beats ahead of his defender who either has to let Harden blow by on his way to the basket, or foul him. Hardens mastery of this athletic ability has put him in the position to lead the league in trips to the foul line.In several ways, Wiggins is Hardens athletic mirror -- a high-level athlete in P3s traditional and more sophisticated measures. While Harden can decelerate impressively, Wiggins exhibits a rare ability to accelerate. During a set of prescribed movements, Wiggins demonstrated an elite ability to explode out of a jump. In fact, his measurement in the Standing Vertical Leap related to this type of explosiveness is the best P3 has ever measured in an NBA player.On the court this skill has similar implications to Hardens stopping ability. Offensively, his explosiveness allows him to seek the easiest shot available -- whether that involves a drive to the basket or raising up for an uncontested jumper (or another SC Top 10 play).Defensively, Wiggins unique athleticism allows him to more easily catch up to a ball handler or move quickly into help position -- making life tough on the opposition regardless of who hes guarding. Though Wiggins is still learning how to maximize the value of his athletic gifts on the court, his athletic abilities provide him time to learn to be as crafty as a player like Harden. If he puts both pieces of the puzzle together, look out.Although theres been much noise about the use of technology and biometrics as it relates to injuries, P3s sports and data scientists are showing that technology and data can also help us better understand what makes athletes excel or struggle in very specific areas or actions on the court. This granular assessment of performance systems allows us to start unlocking the hidden code that underlies all competitive sports.We have found, says Elliott, that in the rare case that a professional athlete has any one physical performance metric that is substantially better than those of the other genetic lottery winners they play against in pro sports, they nearly always find a way to exploit it on the court or field.Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys[/ury one physical performance metric that iesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '