At the ATP World Tour Finals, number one pair Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut were knocked out by the Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez 7-5, 5-7, 10-8. That win meant Henri Kontinen and John Peers qualified for the semifinal.
This also means that Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares have complete control of their own destination as they aim to finish the season as the world number one team.
Lopez/Lopez grab late break to take the first set
Both teams started out with easy holds of serve. After four games, all four players had held their serve relatively easy. From then on in both pairs continued to trade comfortable service holds throughout most of the opening set as the match went to 5-5. However, in the sixth game, the Spaniards gained the first break point of the entire match after Mahut hit a double-fault.
In the next point, Mahut missed what seemed to be a relative volley as the Spaniards broke to go ahead at 6-5. At 30-15, Marc Lopez and Herbert got into an exchange on the baseline with the 25-year-old netting a forehand to bring up set point. A forehand winner from the 34-year-old on their first set point gave the fourth seeds the opening set at 7-5.
Herbert/Mahut level
At the start of the second set at 30-30, Marc Lopez hit a return winner which landed in the corner of the court presented the fourth seeds with a break point. The French pair were put in immediate danger when Herbert hit a double fault to gift the break to their opponents. Lopez/Lopez then held serve for 2-0. Just two games later, down break point, the French team broke back after Marc Lopez served a double fault.
Herbert and Mahut held serve to love to edge infront at 2-3 for the first time in the set. With one break each, both teams then held serve with few opportunities being presented. With the score now at 5-6 in favor of the world number one team, Herbert and Mahut then ran away to a love-40 lead giving them three break/match points. The French team then broke Marc Lopez on the very next point to send the match into a deciding tiebreaker.
Herbert/Mahut crash out at the hands of Lopez/Lopez
The match tiebreaker proved to be a tense affair for the both teams. The French team failed to hold on to a 1-4 lead allowing the Spaniards a glimmer of hope. The Wimbledon champions regained their mini break at 4-6 with Marc Lopez smashing his racket in anger and receiving a warning from the umpire.
However, he and his namesake Feliciano Lopez did manage to draw level at 8-8 in the breaker. A critical double fault from Herbert gave the world number four their first match point. The Spaniards, who lost their opening round-robin then wrapped up the match in one hour and 38 minutes to keep any hopes of qualifying for the semifinal alive.