Kiwi tennis pro Marcus Daniell has overcome rising star Nick Kyrgios to progress to his sixth career ATP doubles final in Lyon.
Daniell, 27 from the Wairarapa teamed with Brazilian Marcelo Demoliner to defeat the Australian pair of Kyrgios and Matt Reid 6-3 6-1 in 46 minutes on the clay courts in the semifinals.
"We did our job in the semis," said Daniell. "You never know which Kyrgios is going to walk out, so we had to jump on them early and we did that well.
"It's perfect preparation for Roland Garros [French Open]. We've found the right mental space and are working hard, we just have to keep this roll going."
They now have a day up their sleeve and await the winner of the second semfiinal, before playing the title match on Saturday night (NZ time).
Daniell has three ATP doubles titles to his name - Auckland in 2010 with Horia Tecau, and Montpellier 2015 and Stuttgart 2016, both with Artem Sitak.
He has been a beaten finalist on two occasions.
