Hugues-Herbert/Mahut beat Murray/Peers to take US Open doubles title

Pierre Hugues-Herbert and Nicolas Mahut have now won their first ever Grand Slam

The French doubles pair of Pierre Hugues-Herbert and Nicolas Mahut beat 8^th seeded Jamie Murray and John Peers to win the men’s doubles at the US Open yesterday. They finished the match against their British-Australian competitors in quick fashion, winning 6-4, 6-4. 

This is the second time this year that Murray and Peers have missed out on a Grand Slam title; the pair reached the finals at Wimbledon, losing out to Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau.

The match lasted just over an hour, with a standout performance from Herbert, partnered and tempered effectively by Mahut, with the Frenchmen crushing the hopes of Murray and Peers’ first Grand Slam title.

Jamie Murray, the older brother of World No. 3 Andy, said in a press conference following the match that he now “knows how Andy feels.” The younger Murray was ousted from the tournament in the round of 16, losing to the big-serving Kevin Anderson of South Africa, and it was the first time he did not reach at least the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam he participated in . Anderson would later go on to be defeated by Stan Wawrinka.

Two-time Grand Slam winner Andy won the US Open in 2012, when he defeated current World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

The women’s singles finals at the Open concluded last night, with the title taken by 26^th seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta. The first ever all-Italian final in US Open history was contested between Pennetta and long-time friend Roberta Vinci, who pulled off the upset of the tournament by beating top seed Serena Williams.

Tonight, the tournament will culminate in a battle of World No. 1 vs. World No. 2 as top seed Novak Djokovic takes on 17 Grand Slam winner Roger Federer to cap off the tournament. The pair met earlier this year at the Western and Southern Open, with the Swiss winning that match 7-6(1), 6-3. While both players have been in good form, Federer, who is one of the greatest exponents of the game, is the only player to not have dropped a set in the entire tournament.

As the Western and Southern Open is also played on a hard surface, and Federer has momentum and a singular resurgence in form on his side, he will go into tonight’s match the favourite to win.