Tennis: Kiwi Marcus Daniell advances to doubles semifinals in Hamburg

Kiwi Marcus Daniell in action. Photo / Photosport

Kiwi Marcus Daniell and his Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof have had their best result as a team reaching the doubles semi finals at the ATP 500 tournament in Hamburg, the German Open.

They've thrashed Spaniard David Marrero and Pakistan's Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi 6-1, 6-2 in 57 minutes.

Daniell and Koolhof served superbly throughout and lost only four points on first serve during the match. They converted four of their five break point chances and saved all four break points against them.

For Daniell it's an encouraging sign that he can Koolhof can become a real force on the doubles circuit.

"I feel like we found our level today," Daniell said. "We played solid tennis on both serve and return and came up trumps on the few big points in the match. Wes and I are clicking more and more with each match we play and I think we can do some serious damage in the remainder of the season."

Daniell and Koolhof had struggled earlier in their partnership which formed at the start of the grass court season. They suffered a surprise first round defeat at Wimbledon and the Kiwi's ranking has dropped from a career high of 34 in January to 47, not helped by spending a couple of months sidelined with a wrist injury during the clay court season.

But with big points on offer in Hamburg, Daniell by reaching the semifinals will move to the cusp of the top 40 again and winning the tournament would see him close in on his career high ranking.

Daniell and Koolhof will face the top seeds, world number one ranked team of Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic in the semis.