London (AFP)
The French pair Herbert / Mahut qualified for the semifinals of the Masters in London, after struggling to beat Germany's Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies (N.3) in straight sets 7-5, 7-6 (7). / 3), Wednesday.
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut quickly took the service of the Germans in the first set (3-1), before being broken in their turn (4-5). The French won the first round 7-5 thanks to a set ball offered on a double fault of Andreas Mies serving.
Breakaway entry in the second set, the Tricolores, seeded N.7, have reappointed in the score in the eighth game, taking for the third time in the game the service of Andreas Mies (4-4). French and Germans did not let go (6-6), until the decisive game that Herbert and Mahut dominated from end to end (7/3).
This victory in two sets opens the doors of the last square to the French duo, regardless of the result of their last group match Friday.
Herbert and Mahut have not played a lot together this year: the pair split after their triumph at the Australian Open in January, as Herbert wanted to focus on his career in singles before ending up US Open, late August.
Winners of the Masters 1000 Paris-Bercy this year, the French pair is aiming for a first victory in the Masters, which brings together the 8 best duos in the world. This is one of the few tournaments that are missing from their common prize list. They reached the final in 2018.
Earlier Wednesday, in the same group, the Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer and Romanian Horia Tecau (N.6) beat the Colombian N.1 world-wide Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal 2-6, 7-5, 8-10 .
© 2019 AFP