2018 Nitto ATP Finals: French pair Herbert/Mahut make the final
Having tasted defeat in straight sets to top-seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic in their opening round-robin match, the all-French pair of Pierre- Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut were virtually in a must-win contest in both their remaining matches to stay in contention to make the semis.
Fast forward five days later and the Frenchmen notched up their third successive victory at The O2 Arena, London to cement their place in the final of the Nitto ATP Finals, beating the Colombian duo of Juan Sebastien Cabal and Robert Farah 6-3, 5-7, 10-5 on Saturday.
The French pair made the finals for the first time in 4 attempts and their delightful performance over the week is sure to bring a lot of delight to the French Davis Cup captain Yannick Noah as France prepare to face-off against Croatia in the Davis Cup Final later this month.
The first set lasted just over half an hour as Herbert served his third ace to close out the first set in majestic fashion. A single break of serve was all the Frenchmen needed to seize the lead in the match.
The second set was a lot tougher and it looked like it was heading to a tie-break. However, aggressive net play from particularly Farah gave the Colombians the much-needed break as they leveled the match at one set all.
In the match tie-break, the Frenchmen quickly trailed 0-2 but turned the tide as they won 6 consecutive points of the back of some dominant serving. The eight-seeded pair won the match tie-break 10-5 with a crisp overhead smash by Herbert.
Herbert and Mahut will be bidding to become the first all-French pair to win the title since Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro did so in 2005. The reigning French Open Champions will face-off against Wimbledon and US Open Champions American duo Mike Bryan and Jack Sock in their second meeting in 3 days.
Herbert and Mahut topped their group with a comfortable straight sets victory over their American opponents in the last round-robin match of the Mark Knowles / Daniel Nestor group. They can expect a sterner test this time with the Americans looking to end their partnership on a high note.