Juan Mata is edging closer to joining Manchester United from Chelsea as the Premier League champions try to strengthen their squad after a lackluster first half of the season.

In a sign that Mata's Chelsea departure is nearing, a person familiar with the situation said the midfielder did not train with the first team on Wednesday.

Brazilian organizers have completed another World Cup stadium. Yet there was little reason to celebrate Wednesday amid doubts about when or even if the remaining five venues will be ready in time for football's showcase tournament in June.

The Arena das Dunas in the northeastern city of Natal was inaugurated in a ceremony attended by FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who took a symbolic first kick in front of a few thousand people.

Roger Federer rekindled his dominance over Andy Murray in Grand Slam matches and advanced to his 11th consecutive Australian Open semifinal with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 win Wednesday.

Federer clinched it on his third match point with an ace to set up a showdown with top-ranked Rafael Nadal, who beat Grigor Dimitrov 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (7), 6-2.

West Bromwich Albion striker Nicolas Anelka was charged by the English Football Association on Tuesday for performing a gesture considered to be anti-Semitic while celebrating a goal.

The former France international has until Thursday to respond to the charge, and is facing a minimum five-game Premier League ban under the FA's anti-discrimination sanctions.

Italy's Diego Ulissi beat Australian Simon Gerrans in a sprint finish to Wednesday's second stage of cycling's Tour Down Under, though Gerrans retained the tour lead on general classification.

The 24-year-old Ulissi, a two-time winner of the world junior road race title, emerged in a bunch sprint to beat Gerrans and 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans on the 150-kilometer (94-mile) stage from Prospect to Stirling.

Even in a Grand Slam as unpredictable as this year's Australian Open, the names in the women's semifinals may still prompt head-scratching among casual followers of tennis.

With the three biggest stars of the women's game falling one by one — top-seeded Serena Williams, followed by Maria Sharapova and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka — the door has opened for a first-time winner at Melbourne Park.

Rafael Nadal avoided the top player exodus that claimed two-time defending women's champion Victoria Azarenka in the preceding match on center court with a 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (7), 6-2 win over Grigor Dimitrov in the Australian Open quarterfinals Wednesday.

Nadal, who received treatment several times for a nasty-looking blister on the palm of his left hand that he said caused him to serve slower than usual, advanced to a semifinal match against the winner of the marquee quarterfinal between Andy Murray and Roger Federer later Wednesday.

Jamaica's bobsleigh team have been given the nod to compete in the Sochi Olympics, their national Olympic Association (JOA) confirmed on Monday.

It will be the third Winter Games for a team from the sun-drenched Caribbean island who first qualified in 1988 for Calgary, an achievement that later inspired the movie "Cool Runnings."

Tomas Berdych fought off the tenacious David Ferrer in four sets to win through to his first Australian Open semi-final on Tuesday.

The Czech seventh seed outlasted the Spanish third seed 6-1, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in just over three hours and will play either defending champion Novak Djokovic or Stanislas Wawrinka for a place in the final.

Violinist Vanessa Mae is set to ski for Thailand at the Winter Olympics in Russia next month, the Thai team said on Monday.

The 35-year-old former child prodigy, whose father is Thai, is one of two skiers due to represent the kingdom in Sochi, team leader Varin Tansupasiri told AFP.