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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Roddick returns to semifinals

American Andy Roddick outlasted Lleyton Hewitt in five sets.  (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
From Staff And Wire Reports

Tennis: This one meant so much to Andy Roddick.

Because of the stakes: a return to Wimbledon’s semifinals. Because of the opponent: 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt. And because of the circumstances: a five-set grind that began under a bright sun and concluded in shadows, 3 hours, 50 minutes later.

When it was over, having finally figured out a way to get past Hewitt 6-3, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4, Roddick let out a sigh and raised a fist, then threw his racket down, sat in his changeover chair and covered his face with his hands.

“A mixture of happiness, of relief. In your mind, you’re kind of trying to stay the course for four hours, constantly figuring out what you’re going to do,” said Roddick, who swatted 43 aces in Wednesday’s quarterfinals at the All England Club at Wimbledon, England. “Your mind is just racing.”

Roddick came through in the crunch, saving three break points while trailing 2-1 in the fifth set, before earning the decisive break in a 14-point game to go ahead 5-4.

Next up for the No. 6-seeded Roddick: a semifinal against No. 3 Andy Murray, who beat 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 6-2. Murray is trying to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936, so he will be backed by quite a crowd in what the locals will bill as “Andy vs. Andy.”

The other semifinal Friday is No. 2 Roger Federer against No. 24 Tommy Haas. It’s a rematch of a June 1 French Open fourth-round match in which Haas took the first two sets and was five points away from winning, before Federer won en route to claiming his first title at Roland Garros. That gave Federer his 14th Grand Slam championship, tying Pete Sampras’ career record.

Seeking a sixth Wimbledon title, Federer beat No. 22 Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (3). Haas knocked off No. 4 Novak Djokovic of Serbia 7-5, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3.

Pistons start putting together pieces

Basketball: Detroit is acting quickly to remake a former title contender.

The Pistons agreed to five-year contracts with Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told the Associated Press.

Those were the first big moves of the NBA’s free-agency period, which began just after midnight.

Gordon and Villanueva are former Connecticut teammates who will remain in the Central Division. Gordon was Chicago’s leading scorer and Villanueva played for Milwaukee.

Jason Kidd also seems in high demand, meeting with two suitors on the opening day of free agency in the NBA.

So does Orlando’s Marcin Gortat, who could land an offer to be Kidd’s teammate.

Ron Artest might be on his way to Cleveland, according to anonymous sources.

The Orlando Magic are bracing for the loss of two key players from their Eastern Conference championship team. Hedo Turkoglu, one of the top free agents available, will be in Portland on today to meet with the Trail Blazers Teams are also interested in Gortat, who backed up All-Star Dwight Howard.

Deals can’t be signed until Wednesday, after next season’s salary cap is set.

Casto, Thompson help U.S. team: DeAngelo Casto scored 10 points and Klay Thompson added nine as the Washington State University players assisted the United States to a 106-55 win over Iran at the FIBA U19 World Championship at Auckland, New Zealand.

Mercury sink Seattle: Cappie Pondexter had 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, and Diana Taurasi added 22 points and blocked four shots to help the Phoenix Mercury beat the Seattle Storm 93-81 in WNBA play at Phoenix.

Swin Cash had 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists to lead Seattle.

Rangers sign forward Gaborik for five years

Hockey: The New York Rangers landed one of the biggest NHL free-agent prizes, signing high-scoring forward Marian Gaborik away from Minnesota with a five-year, $37.5 million contract.

The deal came together once the Rangers couldn’t complete a trade with Ottawa for forward Dany Heatley.

Minnesota reacted to the loss of Gaborik, signing right wing Martin Havlat, Chicago’s leading scorer last season.

After marathon negotiations in Sweden, Vancouver reached matched deals to retain identical twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin – the team’s leading scorers last season with 82 points. They each signed five-year, $30.5 million deals.

Montreal was busy for a second straight day, signing former Calgary forward Mike Cammalleri to a five-year, $30 million deal, and defensemen Jaroslav Spacek and Hal Gill.

Small captures PGA pro national title

Golf: Mike Small won the PGA Professional National Championship for the second time in five years, closing with a 3-under-par 68 for a one-stroke victory at Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

Small had a 7-under 277 total to top the 20 qualifiers for the PGA Championship at Hazeltine. Former Ritzville resident Ryan Benzel of Bothell, Wash., tied for fourth at 5 under.

MLS’ Sounders hold off USL’s Timbers

Soccer: Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders beat the Portland Timbers of the USL’s First Division 2-1 at Portland in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

It was the first official meeting between the clubs since the Sounders joined MLS this season. Portland has been awarded an MLS franchise to start play in 2011.