Cancer claims former Wimbledon champ Novotna

PRAGUE - Jana Novotna, who won the hearts of the tennis world when she sobbed on the shoulder of a member of the British royal family after a heartbreaking loss in the Wimbledon final, has died at the age of 49.

The WTA announced Novotna's death on Monday, saying she died on Sunday in her native Czech Republic following a long battle with cancer.

Novotna died "peacefully, surrounded by her family," the women's tennis body said.