Murray return is put on hold

Sports in Brief...

TENNIS: Andy Murray's return to tournament action has been delayed after the Dream Cup in Barbados was cancelled.

The exhibition event, which was due to start on November 28, had been scheduled to provide the Wimbledon champion with his first matches since he had back surgery in September.

But issues reportedly to do with sponsorship and TV mean the tournament will no longer take place.

Murray will instead continue to practise at his winter training base in Miami, where his return to full fitness is said to be on track. The 26-year-old's first match action will now come at another exhibition in Abu Dhabi at the end of December.

THORNTON OFF PACE

GOLF: Matthew Nixon eagled his penultimate hole to open up a one-shot lead after day one of the South African Open at Glendower Golf Club in Ekurhuleni.

Marco Crespi, who has only had his European Tour card six days, looked as if he would get his time on the big stage off to the perfect start and top the leaderboard after the opening round until Nixon's late heroics displaced him and South African Jbe Kruger at the summit.

Ireland's Simon Thornton finished on one under, seven shots off the lead, while Gareth Maybin shot a level par 72.

FROCH BAITS GROVES

BOXING: Carl Froch accused his rival George Groves of preparing to "run for his life" at their final head-to-head press conference ahead of tomorrow night's world super-middleweight title fight.

Froch mocked Groves' declaration of how he intended to take the Nottingham man's WBA and IBF titles, insisting: "What you've been saying for 10 weeks is pathetic. You've embarrassed yourself and on Saturday night I'm going to put it right."

DUGGAN SHORTLISTED

AUTO: Motorsport Ireland has announced their three finalists for the Billy Coleman Award for Ireland's Young Rally Driver of the Year - Robert Duggan, Josh Moffett and Stephen Wright.

Killarney man Duggan (20) is a previous winner of the Junior category of the Dunlop National Rally Championship, Monaghan's Moffett (21) was a runner-up for the Coleman award last year, while Wright (24), also a Farney native, won the Production Car class in the Irish Tarmac Championship in the Donegal International Rally and the Cavan round of the Dunlop series.

The winner will receive €50,000 worth of support to compete in stage rallies nationally and internationally in 2014.