LONDON -- Novak Djokovic survived an early setback, and then made it look all too easy.The second-ranked Serb, who has a chance to reclaim the No. 1 ranking at the O2 Arena next weekend, rallied to beat Dominic Thiem 6-7 (10), 6-0, 6-2 Sunday in his opening match at the season-ending ATP finals.Djokovic won nine of 10 games to take control of the match after losing the first set in a tiebreaker. And even that was close.Yeah, a thrilling tiebreaker, Djokovic said. I had, I think, only one set point. He just played a good point. I was in the rally, but he just was going for his shots.Thiem had his first three set points at 6-3 in the tiebreaker, but he double-faulted twice and then put a backhand into the net to make it 6-6.Djokovic had a chance, too, leading 9-8. But he couldnt close it out with Thiem serving, eventually hitting a backhand long. The Austrian finally won it on his seventh set point with a forehand winner, prompting Djokovic to smack a ball into the crowd.After that, it was just about all Djokovic. The Serb reeled off six straight games to send it to a third set, and then broke Thiem twice more to close it out.Even though I lost the first set, I thought I didnt do too many things wrong, said Djokovic, who saved the only break point he faced. It was just the very high quality of his game that prevailed in the first set.In the following sets, it got to be too much for the Austrian, who was making his debut at the tournament for the top eight players in the world.I lost a little bit energy, not much, but just a little bit (after the first set), Thiem said. Of course, against a player like Novak, he immediately steps up. Thats how the second set went.Thiem said he had a chance to meet Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho after the match, and the pair chatted briefly. Thiem is a fan of English club Chelsea, a team Mourinho has coached in the past.In the late match, fourth-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada beat sixth-seeded Gael Monfils of France 6-3, 6-4.Monfils, who was playing at the ATP finals for the first time, hit a pair of tweeners in the match, but it was Raonic that got the breaks -- one in each half.Djokovic lost the No. 1 ranking to Andy Murray last week, but he can earn it right back in London. If either of the two wins the title next Sunday, that one will be assured of the top ranking -- as long as Djokovic wins another round-robin match on the way to the final.If Djokovic does reclaim the No. 1 ranking, he would finish the season at the top for the third season in a row and the fifth time in six years. Murray is trying to end up as the top man for the first time.With a victory on Sunday, Djokovic can also join Roger Federer as the only players to win the season-ending tournament six times. Federer is not playing in London, sitting out the rest of the season as he continues to recover from knee surgery.Djokovic has had his own injury problems this season, including pulling out of the China Open with an elbow injury in September. In Sundays match, he called for a trainer during the first changeover, but it was because he hurt his thumb on the court after reaching for an early shot.It was just a nasty cut that I had when I didnt manage to return the serve, the first serve, Djokovic said. Just kind of caught the surface, then I cut myself. It was bleeding. I just wanted to stop the bleeding. Yeezy Powerphase Italia .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. Adidas NMD R2 Primeknit . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . http://www.scarpebasketsaldi.it/adidas-eqt-support-adv.html . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Adidas Calabasas Powerphase . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Adidas NMD CS2 Primeknit . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. (STATS) -- The Southwestern Athletic Conferences preseason offensive player of the year, senior running back Lenard Tillery, started his career at Southern University as a walk-on.So, too, did tight end Dillon Beard, who joined Tillery as one of seven Jaguars on the SWACs preseason team.Having one player develop like that is good fortune. Two? Hard to believe.But the top teams in the West Division need success stories such as that this season. Try to separate Grambling State, last years division champ, Southern, the 2013 and 14 division champ, and Prairie View A&M, this years favorite in the division, and its difficult.One persons predicted order of finish today might be completely reversed tomorrow.The West Division had become dominant in the SWAC until Alcorn State came along from the East Division and won the last two championship games. The Braves are the clear favorite again in the East, but the West is anybodys guess.We dont need a polished product, Southern coach Dawson Odums said. A guy may not play as much in high school, he might not have the film, but he wants to go to college and get an opportunity to play college football. But he wants to go somewhere where hes not just going to be used as a scout-teamer, hes going to have a fair opportunity to compete for playing time. Thats what our team offers.Were talented, and weve got to be committed to the process. And if we follow that, I like our chances in 2016.So do the Grambling and Prairie View coaches, who, like Odums, have enjoyed quick success at their schools. Theres been no time for building a program when theres a title to be won.The focus this year is the spirit of the game, how we play, Grambling coach Broderick Fobbs said. Too many times last season we had quarters where we had lulls where we didnt play as well as we were capable of in certain quarters. So for us, its about putting four quality quarters together week in and week out and continue that throughout the season.Said Prairie View coach Willie Simmons: Were not a team thats big on accolades, were not a team thats big on preseason hype -- things of that nature.We try to be a team that says, Hey, whoever needs to step up, step up. But we all have a job to do.Following is a team-by-team breakdown of the 2016 Southwestern Athletic Conference race and STATS predicted order of finishEast Division1. Alcorn State2. Alabama State3. Jackson State4. Alabama A&M5. Mississippi Valley StateWest Division1. Grambling State2. Southern3. Prairie View A&M4. Texas Southern5. Arkansas-Pine Bluff---=TEAM CAPSULES=EAST DIVISION=1. ALCORN STATE BRAVES=LOCATION: Lorman, MississippiSTADIUM: Jack Spinks StadiumCOACH: Fred McNair (first season at Alcorn State)LAST SEASON: 9-4 overall, 7-2 SWAC East (1st)STARTERS RETURNING: 11 (5 offense/6 defense)KEY LOSSES: John Gibbs Jr., QB; Darryen Ragsdale, RB; Warren Gatewood, DBONE TO WATCH ON OFFENSE: Lenorris Footman, QB, Jr. (74-for-170, 1,106 yards, 14 TDs, 4 INTs; 138 carries, 1,023 yards, 11 TDs)ONE TO WATCH ON DEFENSE: Stacey Garner, DE, Jr. (42 TT, 14.5 TFL, 6 sacks, 1 PBU, 5 QBH)OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Marquis Warford, RB/WR/KR, R-Jr.; Arron Baker, RB, Jr.; Brandon Campbell, TE, So.; Detonio Dade, C, Sr.; Deonte Brooks, LT, Fr.; Mike Brooks, DE, So.; Mike Hurns, LB, Sr.; Darien Anderson, LB, Sr.; DAndre Smith, DB, Jr.; Brady Smith, CB, Jr.; Eric Foster, DB, R-Jr.; Haiden McCraney, PK/P, Sr.OUTLOOK: Coming off back-to-back SWAC titles, Alcorn remains the team to beat in the conference. But former coach Jay Hopson is gone to Southern Miss, with former Braves assistant Fred McNair a head coach for the first time. Its a natural progression considering McNair is an Alcorn alumni and his late brother Steve will forever be royalty in the program. The Braves lost a superb senior class, but got a jump on this season last fall when Footman replaced an injured Gibbs at quarterback and took command of the offense, going over 1,000 yards in both passing and rushing with 25 total touchdowns. The dynamic Warford (1,431 all-purpose yards, 11 TDs) and Baker (9 TDs) also will continue to rack up touchdowns in their explosive offense. The Braves led the SWAC in total defense and scoring defense last year, and Garner, Brooks and Anderson return to help make a strong front. Their defense surrendered a ridiculously low 91.6 passing yards per game. The Braves have a national spotlight to open the season -- a Sept. 4 trip to Bethune-Cookman for the MEAC-SWAC Challenge.S