Brazilian authorities detained the wife of former world boxing champion Arturo Gatti as a suspect in his killing, according to local reports.

Gatti was found dead Saturday in a hotel in Brazil, where he was taking a vacation with his wife, Amanda Carina Barbosa Rodrigues, and their young child.

The 37-year-old Canadian, who was born in Italy and made his name as a fighter based in New Jersey, was staying in the northeast seaside resort of Porto de Galihnas.

Rodrigues, 23, was being held in a police station in the city of Recife in connection with the killing, a police official in Porto de Galihnas told CNN.

Police official Osmar Silva Santiago confirmed local reports that Gatti’s body was found Saturday morning in his hotel room with strangulation marks.

“This crime is being investigated by our homicide experts and we hope to have more answers tomorrow,” Santiago said.

Police recovered a blood-stained purse strap from the scene, according to media reports.

Rodrigues became a suspect because of inconsistencies during her interrogation, local reports quoted homicide task force chief Josedith Ferreira as saying.

Gatti made his name in a series of three fights against “Irish” Micky Ward, losing the first but triumphing in the other two.

He held the IBF super-featherweight and WBC light-welterweight titles, and he also won the WBC junior welterweight belt but lost it to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2005.

Gatti retired in 2007 after suffering a knockout defeat by Alfonso Gomez in his comeback, ending with a record of 40 wins and nine losses.

He grew up in Montreal, Quebec, after leaving Italy at an early age, and returned to the city following his retirement.

According to Gatti’s official Web site, the Italian-born pugilist won “Fight of the Year” for three consecutive years. – CNN

Roger Federer became the greatest player in Grand Slam history as he beat Andy Roddick in five dramatic sets for a sixth Wimbledon and 15th major title.

The Swiss won 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 16-14 to surpass Pete Sampras’s 14 Grand Slam wins and regain the title he lost to Rafael Nadal last year.

And Sampras was back at Wimbledon for the first time since 2002 to watch from the Royal Box as Federer made history.

Federer, 27, will now return to the top of the world rankings ahead of Nadal.

But he had to dig deep against an in-form Roddick, who had four points for a two-set lead and then battled back to force an epic fifth set as the match became the longest men’s singles final ever in terms of games played.

Federer lost 9-7 in the fifth to Nadal 12 months ago, but this year’s final set alone lasted 95 minutes and with 30 games was considerably longer than the previous Grand Slam record of 11-9 in the fifth set at the 1927 French Open.

“Andy played unbelievable,” Federer told BBC Sport, adding: “It feels great. It was a crazy match with an unbelievable end and my head’s still spinning, but it’s an unbelievable moment in my career.”

Federer, who claimed a first French Open title last month, has now won Wimbledon six times, the US Open five times, the Australian Open three times and Roland Garros once.

Sampras was the last man to set a new mark in Grand Slams when he beat Pat Rafter in an emotional final at Wimbledon in 2000, and the American chose to return to the All England Club to witness Federer’s achievement.

The 37-year-old arrived to applause during the changeover after the third game and, with his wife, took his seat alongside Manuel Santana, Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg and Ilie Nastase.

With so many tennis greats on hand, Roddick appeared to be very much the support act as Federer attempted to make history, but the American has been a rejuvenated force this year and played one of his best ever matches in beating British hope Andy Murray in the semi-finals.

He went into the final having won just two of his previous 18 matches against Federer, but with the confidence of having arguably the world’s best serve and a new variety to his game brought out by coach Larry Stefanki.

Both men started strongly on serve but it was the Swiss who put the pressure on first, forcing four break points in a tense game at 5-5.

Federer was twice denied by Hawkeye, while Roddick saved two break points with trademark heavy serves, and the five-time champion was quickly made to regret the missed chances.

Moments later he was under pressure as he leaked a forehand into the tramlines to give Roddick a set point from seemingly nowhere, and when the Swiss made the same mistake in the following rally the American’s supporters were on their feet applauding as their man took a shock lead.

The second set followed the same pattern, with neither player able to fashion a break point and Roddick now making 80% of his first serves.

It came down to a tie-break and, knowing his title hopes were under serious threat, Federer made a nervous forehand error to hand over the mini-break before the Roddick serve took over, sweeping the American to 6-2 and four set points.

An imperious Federer backhand and two service winners cut the deficit before Roddick had a chance on his own serve, but he put a high backhand volley well wide.

Federer fired a cross-court backhand pass to win a fifth straight point and earn a set point for himself, and Roddick pushed a backhand well over the baseline to bring Federer level at one-set all.

It was a body blow for the American and he headed straight to the locker room on the changeover before marching to the wrong end on his return to Centre Court.

Roddick’s head cleared sufficiently for him to get a foothold in the third set and he saved a break point in game five with a serve.

The 26-year-old could win only two points on the Federer serve throughout the set but he forced another tie-break, and a chance to amend for the disaster of the second set.

A backhand approach into the net gave Federer the mini-break though and, although Roddick did well to close the gap to 6-5, the Swiss converted his third set point with a thumping forehand.

If anyone thought that the smooth coronation of Federer was now back on track, Roddick had other ideas, playing a magnificent volley at 2-1 to earn two break points and taking the second with a backhand pass that Federer could not handle.

Roddick served out valiantly from 0-30 in game nine, thrilling the Centre Court crowd who were about to enjoy a fifth set that few had expected to see.

Federer had the first chance at a break in the decider but again Roddick served his way out of trouble, and the Swiss had still not broken his opponent after nearly three hours.

Both men appeared to be getting stronger and stronger and they were well and truly in the groove on serve, with Federer ahead in the ace count as the fifth set rolled on.

Roddick made his move at 8-8, firing a spectacular backhand winner down the line for 15-40, but five-time champion Federer responded magnificently with a service winner and a nerveless drive-volley.

The set became the longest in a men’s singles final when Federer fired three aces in a row to move ahead 13-12, and Roddick began to look the more tired – but he refused to yield until the 30th game of the set.

The American looped a forehand long at deuce, and when he did the same on championship point Federer had his first service break of the day – and a historic victory after four hours and 17 minutes that takes him to the top of the Grand Slam list.

“It’s not one of those goals you set as a little boy but it’s been quite a career and quite a month,” said Federer.

“This is not why I’m playing tennis, to break records, and this doesn’t mean I’m going to stop playing tennis. I hope to come back for many years.”

Roddick told the crowd: “I’m one of the lucky few who gets cheered for, so thank you for that. I just want to say congratulations to Roger, he deserves everything he gets, so well done Roger.”

And looking up to the Royal Box, he told compatriot Sampras: “I tried, sorry Pete.” – BBC

Tiger Woods took a one-shot lead at the tournament he hosts after carding a four-under-par 66 in the second round of the AT&T National at Congressional Country Club on Friday.

The world No. 1 had trailed defending champion Anthony Kim by two strokes after the opening round, despite shooting 64 — his lowest opening round in two years.

Due to his knee surgery, the 33-year-old missed last year’s second edition of the PGA Tour event, which benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation and honors U.S. servicemen and women.

But he appears intent on making up for last time in 2009, despite bogeying his second hole of the day, the par-four 11th.

Woods responded with birdies at 13,15 and 16, then picked up further shots at the par-four first and eighth holes to close on 10-under 130 at the halfway stage.

“I didn’t drive the ball as well as I did yesterday or hit my irons as crisp,” Woods said. “Either I hit it pretty close to the hole, within 10 feet, or I was missing greens. So it was a little bit of two ends today.

“It was nice to actually get a score out of it. I didn’t shoot myself in the foot and had a stretch there from basically 17 through three where I didn’t really hit the ball all that well, but somehow was able to get through it and keep the momentum of the round going.”

Fellow American Kim failed to build on his course-record opening 62, and fell to third place behind Australian Rod Pampling on eight-under 132 after carding a 70 which featured three birdies and three bogeys.

“It was a grind, possibly one of the toughest ball-striking days I’ve had in a long time, even with all my injuries (this year) and I feel good,” Kim said.

“I stayed positive and made a couple of key putts to keep me in it so it’s not so bad to be third after a rough day.”

The 39-year-old Pampling, seeking his third PGA Tour victory, catapulted himself into second place with a fine seven-birdie 64.

Jim Furyk was in fourth place on seven-under after carding 67, to be one ahead of fellow Bryce Molder and DA Points, who both shot 70, and Sweden’s Daniel Chopra (68).

U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover matched playing partner Woods with a 66 to take him to five-under, alongside former world amateur No. 1 Danny Lee of New Zealand (67), Australia’s Stuart Appleby (69), American Ryan Moore (66) and compatriot Cameron Beckman (67).

Former Masters champion Mike Weir scraped into the weekend rounds with a one-over 71 putting him on the cut of 142, but U.S. Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger missed out along with Australia’s Robert Allenby, England’s Paul Casey and Korean K.J. Choi. – CNN

American sixth seed Andy Roddick ended Andy Murray’s hopes of winning Wimbledon after beating the British number one in four thrilling sets on Centre Court on Friday.

Third seed Murray was hoping to become the first British man to win the tournament since Fred Perry in 1936, but he was eventually out-gunned by an inspired Roddick who went through 6-4 4-6 7-6 7-6.

Roddick will now face Roger Federer, who has beaten him in their two previous Wimbledon final meetings — in 2004 and 2005.

“I had to play my very best tennis to win. I can’t say enough good things about Andy, he played so well, but I can play well sometimes too,” Roddick told BBC Sport.

“Not many people gave me a chance before the match, but I knew I could win. Throughout my career I have had many shortcomings but trying hard is not one of them.

“In fairness, he had all the pressure on him — and that probably helped me a bit. I played very very well and it’s a dream to reach another grand slam final after a couple of barren years.”

Murray was punished for being too passive in the opening set and, although he bounced back in the second, Roddick’s bullet serving and consistent all-round game earned him a third Wimbledon final appearance against Federer.

The pressure of the match showed on the British number one: in the third set Murray was warned for bad language.

Murray told a news conference: “You always expect your opponents to play well at this stage of the tournament. I had a few chances in the first tie-break and also had chances early in the third set and I didn’t take any of them.

“I thought I played well, but he served really, really well. He was serving at a high pace and at such a high percentage, sometimes there’s not a whole lot you can do.” – CNN

WIMBLEDON, England — Venus Williams advanced to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon when opponent Ana Ivanovic retired Monday one game into the second set.

American 17-year-old Melanie Oudin was eliminated.

Williams led 6-1, 0-1 when Ivanovic called it quits.

Ivanovic took a 10-minute break during the first game of the second set to have her left thigh taped by a trainer. She returned for two more points, but after hitting a service winner to take the game, she began crying as she walked to her chair and told the umpire she was retiring.

Oudin, a qualifier from Marietta, Ga., lost to No. 11-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4, 7-5.

Missed chances hurt Oudin. She flubbed an easy volley to lose the first set, and she was up a break in the second set before her surprising Wimbledon came to an end.

Oudin pulled the biggest upset in the first week of the tournament by beating former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic. Oudin was the youngest American to reach the women’s fourth round at Wimbledon since Jennifer Capriati was a quarterfinalist in 1993.

Williams, seeking her sixth Wimbledon title, took a 5-0 lead before Ivanovic won a game 27 minutes into the match. Former No. 1 Ivanovic hasn’t reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal since winning the 2008 French Open.

Second-seeded Serena Williams, fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva and No. 8 Victoria Azarenka also advanced.

Williams beat Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-1, losing just two points on her first serve and breaking Hantuchova five times to complete the win in 56 minutes.

Williams is looking for her third Wimbledon title after winning here in 2002-03. She lost last year’s final to her sister.

Azarenka battled her way into the quarterfinals with a hard-fought 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-3 victory over Russia’s Nadia Petrova.

The eighth seed, the first woman from Belarus to reach the last eight at Wimbledon since Natasha Zvereva in 1998, will have to raise her game to stand a chance against Serena Williams in the last eight.

An abysmal first set was awash with unforced errors, both players each losing their serve three times apiece before Azarenka, yowling with effort on every point, squeaked home 7-5 in a tight tiebreak.

Petrova, treated at the end of the set with ice packs to counteract the heat, came back with guns blazing to even the match but could not maintain the pressure in the decider, and Azarenka wrapped it up after 2 hours, 25 minutes.

Dementieva beat fellow Russian Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-3.

Dementieva faced little resistance in the first set and never faced a break point in the match. She sealed the win by breaking for the second time in the second set, converting her second match point.

Dementieva is playing her 11th consecutive Wimbledon tournament and reached the semifinals last year.

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report. – ESPN

Cristiano Ronaldo will be unveiled as a Real Madrid player on July 6, having finally agreed terms over his world-record $130 million transfer from Manchester United.

Spanish giants Real had been in talks with the 24-year-old World Player of the Year’s representatives for the past two weeks after agreeing the fee with English champions United.

The Portugal winger will be tied to the Bernabeu until 2015, with Spanish media reporting that he will be paid €13 million ($18 million) each season.

Madrid announced on the club’s official Web site read: “Real Madrid and Manchester United have signed a final agreement for the transfer of the rights of Cristiano Ronaldo from July 1.

“The player will be tied to Real Madrid for the next six seasons and will be presented on July 6 at the Santiago Bernabeu.”

United also confirmed the deal on their Web site, stating: “Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure is all but done and dusted after Real Madrid and Manchester United finalized the agreement for his transfer on Friday evening.

“The Portuguese winger was the subject of a world-record £80 million offer from the Spanish club on Thursday 11 June. He has since been on holiday but a return to work with new employers now beckons, with the sale set to be completed on Wednesday July 1.”

When the deal is completed next week, it will be the fourth time Real have broken the world record for transfers.

President Florentino Perez smashed previous highest marks to bring Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane to the Bernabeu in his first stint in charge, then made AC Milan’s Brazilian superstar Kaka his first ‘Galactico’ capture of his second reign at the start of this month.

Perez is trying to rebuild a squad which fell well behind bitter rivals Barcelona last season, with the Catalans completing an unprecedented treble of titles culminating with victory in the Champions League final against United in May.

Ronaldo has reportedly admitted that he had already decided to join Real following United’s capture of European football’s premier prize with victory against English rivals Chelsea a year ago.

He will be the third new addition to the squad, with Valencia defender Raul Albiol due to sign a five-year deal next week after returning from Confederations Cup duty with Spain.

Real have been linked with a host of other players, including Albiol’s club and international team-mate David Villa. – CNN

WIMBLEDON, England — Serena Williams walked onto Court 2 for her match Friday six minutes late. Otherwise she remained right on schedule at Wimbledon.

The two-time champion became the first player to earn a spot in the second week of the tournament when she beat Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-4 in the third round.

As Vinci waited for her tardy opponent to arrive for their noon start, there was brief speculation Williams might be a no-show. Once that ended, so did the prospect of an upset.

Williams said she was late heading to the court at the south end of the club because she was awaiting an escort.

“I thought someone was going to come get me,” she said. “I was waiting and waiting. Finally I was like, ‘OK, I think I’m just going to go out.’ I’m used to someone coming and saying, ‘OK, let’s go.’ ”

The mix-up didn’t rattle Williams, who hit 10 aces and committed only 12 unforced errors to win for the 172nd time in 200 Grand Slam matches. The only other woman to play so many matches in major tournaments is her sister, five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams (219).

The No. 2-seeded Williams used her penetrating strokes to push Vinci around the court. One time the Italian scrambled to retrieve a shot in the corner several steps beyond the lines and then stood helpless as Williams hit a winner into the other corner.

Only briefly did Williams waver, with a series of misplays midway through the second set. She squealed in anguish when poor aim cost her a point at the net. She squealed again when she double-faulted on break point. When she pulled a backhand wide to lose another game, she stomped the grass and said, “Ai-yi-yi.”

Serving at 4-3, she fell behind 0-30 before hitting three aces to hold. Two games later, one final ace gave her the match, and she screamed, “Yes!”

“I don’t think I played great today at all,” Williams said. “I’m just glad to have gotten through it and go on to the next match.”

Williams’ opponent in the round of 16 on Monday will be Daniela Hantuchova, who beat Ai Sugiyama 6-4, 6-3. Williams is 6-1 against Hantuchova.

“She’s such a smooth player,” Williams said. “I have to make sure I don’t rush myself, because she is playing well, and I think she’s moving well. So I’m going to have to really bring a tough game.”

Over on Centre Court, the new retractable roof remained open for a fifth consecutive day, despite rain in the forecast.

Victoria Azarenka made a successful Centre Court debut by beating Sorana Cirstea 7-6 (2), 6-3. Gisela Dulko, who upset 2004 champion Maria Sharapova in the second round, was eliminated by No. 10 Nadia Petrova 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva, slowed by an ankle injury since April, pulled out before her match against No. 26 Virginie Razzano. Fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva, a semifinalist last year, beat qualifier Regina Kulikova 6-1, 6-2.

“Regina is a very good player,” said Dementieva. “She has a powerful serve, she has a good baseline game … she has a good future.”

But she added: “I was too aggressive for her, I just didn’t really give her a chance to play her game.”

Last month the world No. 4 blamed a lack of fitness for her French Open third-round exit, but the work she has put in since appeared to have paid off.

“I took some time off after the French Open and was working on my fitness,” Dementieva said. “I was more focused on the footwork and just the core-build exercise.

“It has really worked for me,” she said.

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report. – ESPN

It has to be an encouraging sign ahead of the semi-finals that England’s so-called second team competed so well against Germany on Monday.

A lot of us were surprised when we saw the team sheet in Halmstad – I thought Stuart Pearce might go half-and-half on his selection but I didn’t expect him to make 10 changes.

It was a gamble, but we’re becoming used to Stuart gambling and winning at this tournament. His decision to be bold when England were down to 10 men against Finland proved inspired, and his introduction of Theo Walcott from the bench was the key against Spain.

Another one has paid off, and Stuart is now in the enviable position of knowing that whoever he calls on from here on in will not be coming in cold.

Maturity

The manager has given everyone a chance to impress, and no one took that chance against the Germans as hungrily as Jack Rodwell, who I’m happy to say lived up to my pre-match billing!

Rodwell is the youngest member of the squad, but he certainly doesn’t play like a kid. His maturity has been evident since he broke into Everton’s team, constantly demanding the ball in tight midfield situations.

That is no mean feat for a teenager in the Premier League and – much like Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs – he’s a player you suspect would look equally at home wherever he was asked to play.

Having said that, he’s up against defensive midfielders with more experience in Fabrice Muamba and Lee Cattermole, and it would be a surprise if he edged either out for a place in Friday’s semi-final against Sweden.

The same goes for Andrew Driver, whose directness from out wide against Germany impressed me even if his decision-making could be criticised on occasion. A lot of English supporters wouldn’t have known much about Hearts’ Andrew before Monday, but they and he will have been encouraged by what they saw.

Competition

The competition for forward places is fierce, and it will be interesting to see what Stuart does against the Swedes. Adam Johnson did well on Monday and you suspect he will be competing for one of two places along with James Milner and Walcott, who has looked at his most menacing appearing from the bench.

I expect Fraizer Campbell to start in the middle with Gabriel Agbonlahor still troubled by tight calves, and to my eyes he’s worth his place whether Agbonlahor is fit or not. The 4-3-3 system favoured by Stuart has worked more effectively when Campbell has been in the side.

As far as the rest of the side goes, I’m anticipating the players who started against Spain being recalled, which means Micah RIchards and Nedum Onuoha starting at centre-half.

We’ve looked shaky once or twice at the back, and the boys who play in there will have to make sure they get themselves sorted from the off – all the more so given they’ll be up against the tournament’s top scorer Marcus Berg.

Local support

Berg and Sweden will be full of confidence, and their solidity reminds me of senior Swedish sides from the past, many of whom produced their best when England were the opposition.

The people here love English football – a good number of the bumper crowds for England’s final two group games were locals – and maybe that inspires the players to raise their game. – Sky Sports