Howard Fendrich, a longtime national sports writer for The Associated Press, has died at 55. His persistent reporting and detail-rich prose brought readers inside dozens of taut Grand Slam tennis finals, record-breaking Olympic moments and harrowing trips down the Alpine ski slopes. Fendrich's wife, Rosanna Maietta, said he died Thursday at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He was diagnosed with cancer shortly after returning from Milan in February where he covered his 11th Olympics. Fendrich covered more than 70 Grand Slam tennis tournaments, documenting the careers of Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and more. His numerous writing honors included two Grimsley Awards for best overall body of work among AP sports writers.