LONDON -- It was a different kind of fortnight at the All England Club.The mens final was absent Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic for the first time in 14 years.And after three near-misses in Grand Slams, Serena Williams finally hoisted the trophy that brought her even with the great Steffi Graf.With that, our 2016 Wimbledon awards:MVPNic Atkin: Few people thought Sam Querrey could hold his nerve and close out a win against Djokovic after taking the two first sets before their third-round match was suspended for the day. But credit to the American for getting the job done.Peter Bodo: Marcus Willis gets the nod over Serena Williams because he saved a truly dreary first week. His improbably run helped offset Brexit anxiety and Englands stunning loss to Iceland in the UEFA Cup.Greg Garber: Serena, hands down. She leaves the All-England Club with two silver trophies and equals the great Steffi Grafs Open era record of 22 major singles titles.Matt Wilansky: A rhetorical question. Serena, who won the singles and doubles titles, is the only logical choice. Only question moving forward is whether shell catch Margaret Court as the all-time leader in Slam wins (24).Top matchAtkin:?Federer-Marin Cilic in the mens quarterfinals. Even by Federers mighty standards, this was one of his great wins, pulling off a Houdini act to save three match points and come back from two sets down.Bodo: Serena over Angelique Kerber in the womens final. It was extremely high quality despite being just two sets. And it was historic as well.Garber: Federer-Cilic. Fantastic twists and turns -- and perhaps a final flourish for the 17-time Grand Slam champion at Wimbledon?Wilansky: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga dug himself out of an impossible two-set hole to escape John Isner 19-17 in the fifth. The match ran 4 hours, 24 minutes -- the longest of the tournament.Biggest disappointment?Atkin: After almost beating Serena in the third round last year, Heather Watson had a poor showing 12 months on, losing in the first round to Annika Beck. No one was more disappointed than the Briton, who angrily slammed her racket to the turf during the match, earning a $12,000 fine.Bodo: Garbine Muguruza had a chance to position herself as the leading candidate to succeed Serena. Instead, she played a poor, low-energy second-round match against Jana Cepelova.Garber: Djokovic, who lost in the third round to Sam Querrey. Seemed like after finally winning the French Open, he took his foot off the gas.Wilansky: Could make a case for Djokovic, but cant blame him for still reveling in his French Open laurels. Instead, the dubious honor belongs to wonderkid Dominic Thiem, who fell meekly in the second round.Biggest surpriseAtkin:?Willis won six matches to qualify for the main draw, then shocked Ricardas Berankis, a player ranked 718 places above him, to earn a Centre Court date with Roger Federer and a check for £50,000.Bodo: Despite a few good weeks, Kerber basically struggled after she beat Serena for the Australian Open title. She bounced back from a dreadful first-round loss in Paris to make another major final and vault to No. 2 in the rankings.Garber:?Querrey, for sure. The American put it all together and made his first major quarterfinal. Lets see if this gives him momentum to get to the next level.Wilansky: Venus Williams. At 36 years old, no one thought she had a semifinal run left in her -- except Venus herself. Nike Vapormax Plus Sunset . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. Nike Vapor Max Plus Triple Black . Inter president Erick Thohir says in a club statement on Wednesday that Vidic is "one of the worlds best defenders and his qualities, international pedigree, and charisma will be an asset. http://www.vapormaxplus.com/ . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. Nike Vapormax Plus White . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. Nike Vapormax Plus Bleached Aqua . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. FRISCO, Texas -- Morris Claiborne triggered a wild celebration on the Dallas sideline with a game-clinching tackle against San Francisco.Earlier in the fourth quarter of the 24-17 victory last week, the cornerback had his first interception in more than two years.Finally healthy and now driven by the desire to show that the Cowboys did the right thing with a bold move up the draft board in 2012, Claiborne is making the most of what might be a last chance to prove he wasnt a top-10 bust.I felt like I owed it to my teammates, the organization, to go out and put together some good years for them and just go have some good games, Claiborne said. From where they picked me at, it was a lot of high expectations for me. I know I havent reached those high expectations. But Im still on it. Im still going.Two years ago, Claiborne wondered if he should keep going. Burdened by a shoulder injury affecting his performance and the conflicting emotions of his fathers death about the same time as his childs birth, the former LSU star left the team facility one day after learning he had lost his starting job.Claiborne returned that night to talk to coach Jason Garrett, and apologized to his teammates the next day.Five days later after the brief disappearance, Claiborne ruptured the patellar tendon in his left knee against New Orleans, ending his season. That was his fifth injury in a span of two seasons, combined with mostly ineffective play before he was benched.Injury after injury. Having surgery after surgery, Claiborne said. You think, `Could this be for me? I just tried to stay as positive as I can at those times even though it was hard, trying to stay positive with what youre going through.The Cowboys chose not to give their former No. 6 overall pick the fifth year on his rookie contract after trading up eight spots to get him. Instead, he got about $8 million less with a one-year, $3 million deal.But Claiborne wanted to come back, and so did the Cowboys because they thought he had a strong 2015 season even though he didnt have an interception.In the minds of most, the biggest difference in the 26-year-old Claiborne is simple: health. He had a full offseason and training camp for the first time. He looked good in camp as well, frequently winning battles with 2014 All-Pro receiveer Dez Bryant.ddddddddddddConfidence comes through practice and preparation, defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said. Lack of confidence is when you are not doing enough. You dont feel comfortable. When you go out and get that many reps against Dez, there is a reality to your confidence.Brandon Carr came to the Cowboys as a high-priced free agent the same year Claiborne was drafted, and both have been criticized over a pass defense that hasnt matched the clubs investment.Theyve shared the struggles, as well as the emotions. Carr lost his mom to breast cancer less than two months before Claibornes lowest moment with the Cowboys.And Carr sees one other difference: five years. That will soon be how long Claiborne has been in the NFL.I think just the good part of those five years, I told him we have the opportunity to in so many words, right our wrongs or create our own ending to this story, said Carr, who is in his ninth season. Its just mental is definitely whats been keeping him afloat these last five years.Claiborne knows he has to do more than stay afloat because of where the Cowboys drafted him and what they gave up to get him.While Claiborne has been among the best in the NFL statistically in coverage this season, he still doesnt have more than one interception in a season. He has plenty of time to change that -- and change the synopsis of his career.I want to be the best. Sometimes it takes longer, Claiborne said. When I got to middle school, I wanted to be the best in middle schools. It took steps. High school, same thing. College. And the pros, too. Im not going to stop trying to take those steps no matter what happens.Claiborne believes hes still in Dallas in part because coach Jason Garrett respects players who persevere. And Garrett was asked about Claibornes fourth quarter after the win over the 49ers.Great illustration of what hes all about, Garrett said. Mos overcome a lot throughout his career. Hes playing the best football of his career.And showing the Cowboys he was worth the investment.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Schuyler Dixon on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apschuyler ' ' '