French duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut have qualified for the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals. This will be the third consecutive year the pair will play at the O2 in London, England. Having failed on both occasions to get out of the Round Robin stage, the pair will be hoping to go one further.
Disappointment Down Under
The French duo began their season at the Brisbane International, where they exited in the second round to the eventual champions Thanasi Kokkinakis and Jordan Thompson. Further disappointment would happen in the first Grand Slam of the year, Australian.
As the number one seed, the duo fell in the quarterfinals to surprise pairing Marc Polmans and Andrew Whittington in three sets, this after eliminating the 16th seeds Florin Mergea and Dominic Inglot previously.
First Title
Having won the sunshine double last year, the pair began the defense of their title with a three set 10-7 win over Americans John Isner and Jack Sock. The pair then entered Miami Open but could only get past Inglot and Mergea before being forced to withdraw from their second round match against Daniel Nestor and Brian Baker.
The first tournament on the clay courts at the Monte-Carlo Masters saw the pair make their first final of the year, defeating the sixth seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers to make it. However, they would run into an inform Spanish duo of Feliciano and Marc Lopez who would win in straight sets.
The Italian Open also saw success for the French pair as they came through three matches and the second seeds Bob and Mike Bryan to reach the final, their second of the season both coming on Clay. The pair of Granollers and Dodig made it two losses in a row against Herbert and Mahut, who claimed their first title of the year.
No success on the Grass
Back on grass, the French pair was defending two titles. At the Queen's Club Championships, their defense ended pretty swiftly to Marcelo Demoliner and Marcus Daniell in the opening round and in straight sets.
Having won Wimbledon the previous year, all eyes were on the duo, seeded second for the Championships. A four set win in the opening round would then see them get shocked by British wild cards Jay Clarke and Marcus Willis in five sets.
Back-to-back titles
With the pair making back-to-back finals on clay and having a dip on grass, the duo got their season back on track with back-to-back titles. Starting the hard court swing off, the two came through four matches and three seeds, including Ivan Dodig and Rohan Bopanna in the final to lift the title, their first of the season.
Further silverware would be added to the ever growing trophy cabinet at the Cincinnati Masters. Despite a successful hard court swing, the pair would only get as far as the first round at the US Open, losing to Matwe Middlekoop and Robin Hasse in straight sets.