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King-Turner Happy To Be Back In Davis Cup Team For This Weeks Clash

Monday 6 February 2012, 12:59PM

By Dave Worsley

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Being back in the New Zealand Davis Cup tennis team is something pretty special for Dan King-Turner in a career which has often had significant chunks taken away by injuries.

This time, the 27-year-old Aucklander who first played for New Zealand in 2005 returns to the team for the clash with Uzbekistan this week after an 18 month hiatus away from the side due to a layoff for an right ankle injury and a bit of reassessing his future.

Previously ranked as high as 217 in singles mid-2010 and 182 in doubles in 2008 King-Turner now has a doubles ranking again – 489 after just a couple of tournaments.

He combined with Kiwi No1 Michael Venus to make the semis of the doubles at the Heineken Open beating two specialised doubles teams and then qualified at a Challenger event in Hawaii to make it through a round of the main draw doubles.

It appears the likely spot in this week’s tie in Tauranga for King-Turner will be doubles, however in Davis Cup anything can change and he says just being part of the team is great. “I’m happy to be part of the team again. I’m happy to contribute, if it’s in the singles, great, if it’s in the doubles. Great. It’s good to be back,” he says. “I haven’t played that many matches but have trained a lot and done a lot of cross-fitness training too. I’m in pretty good shape and the more I train and more I play the better I’m getting. I guess I’ve got experience on my side too which in Davis Cup can count for a lot.”

King-Turner admits that beating Uzbekistan is a tough ask, especially with world No57 Denis Istomin in their side. But he says it’s not an impossible task.

“Istomin is world class. To make it that high in the world rankings and play Grand Slams and top tournaments week-in-week-out, you’ve got to be good. We’ve got a good chance of beating their No2 player who has a similar ranking to Mike and all of the rest of us have been ranked in the top 300 too. So we know how good he (Farrukh Dustov ranked at 251) is. He’s going to be the key match,” explains King-Turner.

“It’s hard to beat any team with a top 100 player. But Mike is hitting the ball well and had a good go in the Heineken Open and also had a good win over former top 100 guy, Robert Kendrick in Hawaii, plus we all know Rubin Statham loves giving it heaps in Davis Cup and Artem(Sitak) and myself are keen to get on the court too.”

Playing indoors at a new venue, the TECT Arena in Tauranga is going to be a new experience for King-Turner and the team, although he says it’s the same court surface which has been used previously for other ties. A great advantage of Tauranga is that for the team members families to travel the three hours from Auckland to watch them play, a factor he says is a great bonus.

“It’s always good to have your family and friends making some noise and giving you support. We get no support when overseas, so we have to make the most of the home advantage.”

For King-Turner coming back to tennis was a no-brainer, after experiencing a bit of time off where some of the finer things of life may have tempted him away from the grind of practice and travel.

“It was a good time to reflect and get my ankle better. I’m 100 per cent back. It was good for a while, being able to go out and not train so much initially, but I can enjoy that sort of thing in three or four years maybe. Now it’s the serious side of playing pro again and helping New Zealand in Davis Cup,” says King-Turner.

The Asia/Oceania Group 1 Round 1 tie between New Zealand and Uzbekistan starts on Friday 10 February, indoors at the TECT Arena, Tauranga with the first of the two singles matches from 3pm. Saturday 11th is the doubles from 3pm and Sunday 12th February the two reverse singles from 11am.

There will be live streaming of all matches with commentary on the Tennis New Zealand website www.tennisnz.com


Live Stream Schedule:
Friday 10th February - 3pm - Two Singles Rubbers * Live Streaming will start from 2.45pm with the Opening Ceremony
Saturday 11th February - 3pm - One Doubles Rubber * Live Streaming will start from 3pm
Sunday 12th February - 11am - Two Reverse Singles Rubbers * Live Streaming will start from 11am

2XU Compression New Zealand team
Asia/Oceania Zone Group I

NEW ZEALAND v UZBEKISTAN
Venue: TECT Arena, Tauranga, New Zealand (hard – indoors)

New Zealand:
Michael Venus
Artem Sitak
Rubin Statham
Daniel King-Turner
Marcel Vos (non-playing captain)

Uzbekistan:
Denis Istomin
Farrukh Dustov
Murad Inoyatov
Sarvar Ikramov
Petr Lebed (non-playing captain)


Tickets and corporate tables are available from the TECT Arena, Tauranga or phone Tennis New Zealand on 09 528 5428 ext 0 or 1 or purchase online via the www.tennisnz.com or www.dashtickets.com
Schedule - Davis Cup by BNP Paribas – NZ v Uzbekistan

Friday 10 February 2012
2.45pm Opening Ceremony
3pm matches start, Two Singles Rubbers

Saturday 11 February 2012
3pm start, One Doubles Rubber

Sunday 12 February 2012
11am start, Two Singles Rubbers