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.

World number one Novak Djokovic reached his 13th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal on Wednesday with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-3 win over Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Djokovic, the 2011 champion, will face Juan Martin del Potro -- the Argentine eighth seed, who put out Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) -- for a place in Sunday's final.

Juan Martin del Potro played through the pain barrier to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal as the former U.S. Open champion defeated Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) on Wednesday.

Argentine eighth seed Del Potro emerged unscathed despite a nasty fall in the first game of the quarterfinal that required several minutes' treatment and briefly appeared to leave him in tears.

Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund began their pre-season training on Wednesday with Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang set to join from French Cup winners Saint Etienne.

Dortmund's director Michael Zorc has been in France since Monday and confirmed they are in talks with the 24-year-old, who scored 19 goals and created 14 assists as Saint Etienne finished fifth in the French league last season.

New Everton manager Roberto Martinez illustrated his determination to fend off Manchester United's interest in left-back Leighton Baines on Wednesday by describing the England international as "an icon".

United manager David Moyes, Martinez's predecessor at Goodison Park, had an initial bid for Baines rebuffed last week when Everton rejected an offer of £12 million ($18.3 million, 14.1 million euros) for his services.

Germany midfielder Mario Gotze got off on the wrong foot with his new employers Bayern Munich when he posed for the cameras at the European Champions in a T-shirt displaying the brand of a rival sponsor.

For the last decade, Bayern have a lucrative sponsorship contract with Adidas, which runs until 2020, and the German sportswear giants own a 9.4 percent stake in the Champions League winners, which is worth 77 million euros (US$100m, £65m).