The unbeaten British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion, George Groves, has been forced to pull out of his WBO World Title fight against Robert Stieglitz, on May 5, because of injury.

The 24-year-old, who sustained the injury while training in Northern Cyprus, said: “I am truly sorry to everyone who will be affected by this. This is the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make and I am gutted, but nothing worth having is given away. It’s only made me more determined to become world champion.

“We tried to work through it, but I soon realised I wouldn’t be able to perform the training needed to prepare for this fight.”

Groves, who enjoyed a fine 2011, also had to pull out of last month’s second defence of his British and Commonwealth titles, against Scot Kenny Anderson, because of a back injury.

Last year, he became the British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion, by beating James DeGale, who won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, in a split decision. Two judges scored the fight 115-114 in favour of Groves with another scoring the fight level at 115-115.

Groves then successfully defended his crown by knocking out Paul Smith at Wembley Arena five months ago, much to the delight of fans who had taken advantage of the favourable boxing odds on the pugilist.

Stieglitz would have been defending his WBO belt for the sixth time. The 30-year-old has only been beaten twice in his 43 bouts, while Groves, who has only boxed on 14 occasions as a professional, has won all of his fights.

Spanish tennis has been very strong over the years, so it’s no surprise to see that the Davis Cup champions are on course for yet another semi-final place, after they opened up a 2-0 lead over Austria in Madrid, last week.

Nicolas Almagro thumped Jurgen Melzer 6-2 6-2 6-4 and David Ferrer thrashed Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-1 6-3 6-1 to put the hosts in command. It is great preparation for the clay kings as they prepare for the French Open, which begins next month.

The Spaniards have sensationally won their last 22 home Davis cup ties and are bidding for a fourth title in five years.

They were without Rafael Nadal for last week’s win, as he prepares for the Roland Garros, but they still had far too much quality for the Austrians. It just shows how strong Spain are in the tennis world; anybody thinking of betting on tennis would be wise to put money on a Spaniard winning the French Open, in May.

While Nadal and Ferrer may be Spain’s best bets for the Open, Nicolas Almagro might just be an outsider in France. His performance, last week, was arguably the best I have ever seen him play.

It was a huge game for the world number 12, who handled the pressure and tension well. His win over Melzer will put him in good stead for the future. It was the kind of tension that players can sometimes be hindered by, but Almagro threw off the shackles early on, and the tennis started flowing.

Surrounded by the likes of Nadal and Ferrer can only be a good thing for Almagro, who will surely benefit from being around two of the best players in the game. The Spanish conveyor belt of talent just keeps on producing the goods and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a Spaniard top the Betfair French Open Tennis odds.

It seems certain that Tiger Woods will have to wait until the US Open in June to challenge for his 15th Major, after enduring a difficult second day at the US Masters.

The 36-year-old, who has won the Masters on four occasions, the US Open three times, the Open Championship three times, and the USPGA Championship on four occasions, fired a three-over-par 75 on Friday, and is eight shots behind joint leaders and compatriots, Fred Couples and Jason Dufner.

Woods, a 7/1 favourite to win the title in Golf US Open Betting, only just beat the cut and is joint-40th at the halfway point. However, he has refused to accept that he cannot win the tournament. He said, after his disappointing round: “The tournament is not over for me. I can do this, although obviously I have to cut down that deficit.

“I know what to do, it’s just a matter of doing it. I’ve been around the block, so I understand how to be patient. I’ve just got to keep getting in the reps and eventually it’ll become second nature.”

Woods hit a ball into the embankment of Rae’s Creek at the 13th, and fired another shot into the crowd at the 15th, before finding a bunker with his next effort. His putting was poor throughout his round, and his swing was extremely inconsistent.

He found only seven of the 18 greens on Friday, hit just eight of the 14 fairways, and needed 27 putts.

Woods had been in fine form leading up the Masters. He was one of the favourites with Betfair to win the tournament for a fifth time, after tasting victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, his first success on the PGA Tour since clinching the BMW Championship in September 2009.

Charl Schwartzel is confident that he can repeat last year’s surprising success at Augusta by winning the Masters this week despite enduring a difficult 12 months.

The 27-year-old South African came from nowhere to take the green jacket a year ago but has struggled to build on that success.

He finished tied for ninth at the US Open in June before clinching 16th position at The Open Championship and 12th at the USPGA in August.

Schwartzel put together one of the best finishes in the 75-year history of the Masters, by birdieing each of the last four holes as he claimed his first Major title by two shots.

He became the third South African to win the tournament after Gary Player and Trevor Immelman but has not won a won a tournament in the last 12 months and has missed the cut at his last two PGA Tour events.

Schwartzel is in an upbeat mood as he attempts to successfully defend his title though, saying: “I have a different mind-set coming into this event knowing that I’ve won. I almost expect myself to win. I feel like I’m playing good enough. I feel like, if I’ve done it before, why can’t I do it again?” Golf betting odds suggest that defending this title will not come without its own list of individuals trying to take this crown away from him and US open golf betting odds seem to suggest a similar long list of would be champions.

As the defending champion, Schwartzel will have to host the annual champions dinner at Augusta National, which includes selecting the menu.

He opted for a braai, a traditional South African barbecue, and joked: “I don’t want to get too much oil on my green jacket, either.”