Portugal fans and neutrals hoping for a splash edition of the Cristiano Ronaldo roadshow had their appetite satisfied as he single-handedly steered his country into the Euro 2012 semi-finals by beating the Czech Republic 1-0.

Ronaldo showed the same kind of sparkle that saw the Portugal captain dominate play and claim a brace in his team's 2-1 defeat of the Netherlands last Sunday - goals he had dedicated to his son, who turned two the same day.

Germany coach Joachim Loew has insisted defending champions Spain remain the favorites to win Euro 2012 as the Germans prepare to take on Greece in Friday's quarterfinal.

Germany - who lost to Spain in the 2008 final - are the only team at these European championships to have a 100 percent record after three wins in Group B on the back of ten wins from ten in their qualifying campaign before the finals.

Canadian Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton said he was "super-motivated" to produce another strong performance this weekend as he aims to extend his lead in the world championship.

Thanks to his emphatic win in Montreal, the 27-year-old McLaren driver heads to the European Grand Prix with a two-point lead in what has been the sport's most extraordinary start to a season with seven different drivers winning the opening seven races.

As Maria Sharapova posed with the French Open trophy against the breathtaking backdrop of the River Seine and the Eiffel Tower, the Russian's thoughts turned from her stunning surroundings in Paris to a small patch of grass in south-west London where she hopes to cap her remarkable return to the top.

Sharapova's victory over Sara Errani in the Roland Garros final earlier this month was a cathartic moment for the 25-year-old, who had gone four years without winning a grand slam as she struggled with the aftermath of serious shoulder surgery.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are braced to deliver a potentially fatal blow to Roger Federer's fading hopes of matching Pete Sampras's record of seven Wimbledon wins.

The great Swiss is fighting time as well as an air-tight Grand Slam grip developed by Djokovic, the defending champion, and Nadal, who have won nine of the last 10 majors between them and contested the last four Grand Slam finals.

Chelsea and Ivory Coast idol Didier Drogba Wednesday said he had signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, where he will join former teammate Nicolas Anelka.

The announcement ends months of speculation about the big-money move, in which the striker will become China's best paid player with wages of 200,000 pounds ($314,000) a week, according to local reports.

A limping, grimacing LeBron James shook off the pain of leg cramps to hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer and the Miami Heat held on to edge the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-98 on Tuesday, taking a 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals.

No team has ever blown a 3-1 lead in the finals, so James' resilient basket with 2:51 remaining looks likely to be the moment that clinches the title for the Heat.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin says he plans to come to London Olympics in private capacity and watch the judo competition.

Putin said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will lead the Russian official delegation at the games.

After the humiliation of the 2010 World Cup, France took another significant step on the road to recovery on Tuesday by qualifying for the quarter-finals of Euro 2012.

Before leaving for Ukraine, France's mission was to rediscover their status as one of European football's major powers and win back the fans left disgusted by the conduct of their players in South Africa two years ago.

England scraped into the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 in Ukraine Tuesday after a goal-line refereeing blunder helped them to a 1-0 win over Ukraine which sent the co-hosts crashing out.

A 48th-minute header from returning talisman Wayne Rooney was enough to see England finish top of Group D and send them into a quarter-final in Kiev on Sunday against Italy.