Marion Bartoli wasted little time in advancing to her second Wimbledon final, dancing and grunting her way to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Kirsten Flipkens on Thursday.

The 15th-seeded Frenchwoman jumped ahead 3-0 in the first set and broke early in the second for another 3-0 lead. Flipkens, a Belgian seeded 20th, was making her first semifinal appearance at a major tournament.

Australian veteran Simon Gerrans defends the yellow jersey as riders set off on Thursday's sixth stage of the Tour de France, a flat route that will favor sprinters like Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan.

Cavendish shook off illness and a drop in form to earn his 24th career Tour stage win on Wednesday and close the gap on archrival Sagan in the contest for the top sprinter's green jersey.

Chelsea and Vitesse Arnhem have reached an agreement over the transfer of midfielder Marco van Ginkel to the English Premier League club.

The 20-year-old Dutch player will move to Stamford Bridge subject to a medical, agreement of personal terms and legal documentation, the Blues said in a statement on Thursday.

Ryan Giggs will have a player-coaching role next season at Manchester United, in a move that is likely to alleviate the pressure on new boss David Moyes.

The 39-year-old Giggs has spent his entire career at United since making his debut in 1991. He has been taking his coaching diplomas and is due to attain the UEFA Pro License, United said in a statement on Thursday.

Veteran Peru striker Claudio Pizarro has signed a one-year contract extension with Europe and Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich.

Pizarro is in his second spell at Bayern after returning to the club from Werder Bremen last year. In total, he has made 281 appearances for Bayern and scored 112 goals.

Mark Cavendish will never be the greatest Tour de France rider, because he will never win the race five times like Eddy Merkcx of Belgium and Frenchman Bernard Hinault. Still, the sprinter with thighs like thick hams could outdo both of those legends — by winning more stages than them at cycling's premier race.

By Cavendish's warp-speed standards, his 24th stage win on Wednesday was like taking candy from a baby. The teammates who led Cavendish to the finish, sucking him along in their wheels, building up his speed, were toiling like clockwork. Stamping on his pedals, head down, thighs pumping like pistons, Cavendish then whooshed off alone for the last 150 meters (yards), leaving everyone else in his wake.

The Formula One championship goes to this weekend's German Grand Prix on a bankrupt circuit amid concern over tire safety and with three-time champion Sebastian Vettel seeking his first win on home soil.

The race at the Nuerburgring comes a week after a chaotic British Grand Prix in which five cars suffered tire blowouts, including that of leader Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes.

Brazil has surged to ninth in the FIFA rankings after winning the Confederations Cup.

The five-time World Cup winner and 2014 host fell to an all-time low of 22nd before a five-match victory streak earned the warm-up event title.

When Any Murray dropped the first two sets of his Wimbledon quarterfinal Wednesday, the 15,000 Centre Court spectators were reduced to a silence so complete that birds could be heard chirping.

By the time his five-set comeback was nearly complete, more than two hours later, the fans were greeting each point that went Murray's way with celebrations of the sort normally reserved for a championship. It's been 77 years since a British man won the country's Grand Slam tennis tournament, and thanks to the second-seeded Murray's 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 victory over 54th-ranked Fernando Verdasco, the locals still can hold out hope the wait will end Sunday.

Manu Ginobili, who turns 36 this month, says he will stay on at the San Antonio Spurs for the next two seasons.

The Argentine tweeted Wednesday that he is staying with the team he has helped win three NBA titles and nearly a fourth last month.