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Kiwi tennis player Dan King-Turner -
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New Zealand officials are pushing for the Davis Cup tennis tie against Pakistan to be shifted outside that country.
New Zealand beat Sri Lanka 3-2 in Colombo on Monday to advance to an Asia-Oceania zone group two semifinal against Pakistan, which the International Tennis Federation (ITF) originally scheduled for the troubled subcontinental country.
But security concerns have prompted Tennis New Zealand (TNZ) to seek to have the tie on July 9-11 played either in New Zealand or at a neutral venue.
"We spoke to the ITF last December when the draw came out and they said they would not review the situation until both Pakistan and New Zealand got through the first round," TNZ events and operations manager Tracy Hall said today.
"As of today we have emailed the ITF asking about the process and what we need to do to have it reviewed."
Hall said the ITF had already shown flexibility in its scheduling by having the first round tie between Pakistan and Hong Kong-China moved from Pakistan to the former British colony.
"They moved it from Pakistan because it was too dangerous."
Hall was unsure whether the Pakistanis would agree to give up home court advantage for the semifinal though.
"Player safety is a massive concern for the ITF in regards to Pakistan. But then again, this will be a semifinal match. Against Hong Kong-China, Pakistan probably thought they would beat them away whereas New Zealand are a different story."
New Zealand qualified for the semifinal after beating Sri Lanka in a tie which went down to the last rubber.
Ahead 2-1 after the doubles, New Zealand suffered a setback on Sunday when body cramps saw Dan King-Turner concede his reverse singles match in the fifth set against Harshana Godamanna.
King-Turner had been on court for almost five hours before being forced to retire when 0-3 down in the closing set and he then spent the next four hours in hospital being treated for dehydration.
Rubin Statham ensured King-Turner's withdrawal did not have significant consequences when he wrapped up the tie by beating Rajeev Rajapakse 6-1 6-0 7-5.
