Kiwi Marcus Daniell into semi finals of ASB Classic doubles, dreaming of repeat truimph

There will be a local presence in the last four of the doubles on Friday at the ASB Classic, after Kiwi Marcus Daniell and his Austrian partner took out a hard fought quarter final on Thursday afternoon.

In front of a raucous crowd on an outside court, Daniell and Oswald came back from a set down to prevail 4-6 6-1 10-7.

"From the first game those guys brought the pressure, got us at sudden death deuce in the first game," said Daniell, who also felt they were "unlucky" with a line call on their only break point in the first set.

"In the second set I felt like we really stepped up, went to another gear on return games and sort of ran away with it. The super [tiebreak] is just anyone's game and with the home crowd and the energy that they bring, we were just able to out passion them a little bit."

Daniell, who took the Auckland title in 2010 alongside Horia Tecau, is the last remaining Kiwi in the draw – after Artem Sitak and Divij Sharan (India) were edged 7-5 6-7 (3) 10-8 by the Belgian combination of Sander GIlle and Joran Vliegen, and sees it as a privilege.

"We only get to play at home once this year," said Daniell. "I've had some pretty incredible memories here in the past and want to keep making more memories. I don't feel a heap more pressure, I see it more as an energy giving thing."

Daniell and Oswald have enjoyed a great build up. They didn't play last week, instead choosing to focus on making the most of preparation for the Auckland event, and Oswald and his young family have been in the city since the Monday before the men's tournament.

They enjoyed having a look around, and seeing a few beaches, but the main dividend was the time on court, which is so far paying off.

Daniell and Oswald face fourth seeds Austin Krajicek (USA) and Croatian Franko Skugor in Friday's semi final.