Herbert Does Double Duty In Cologne, Wins Doubles Title With Mahut
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut captured their 17th tour-level title as a team on Sunday, defeating top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 6-4 to win the bett1HULKS Indoors in Cologne.
It was a busy day for Herbert, who won his final-round qualifying match for the bett1HULKS Championships — held at the same venue — earlier in the day.
“I’ve had a busy weekend I would say and I’m really happy,” Herbert said. “We started again after six months at Roland Garros and being able to share the court with him here, it’s just nice. It’s always a pleasure.
“Being able to play together, enjoy on court and win a tournament, it’s just amazing.”
Herbert and Mahut have now won multiple titles together in six consecutive seasons. Earlier this year, they triumphed in Rotterdam.
This was their fifth ATP Head2Head team clash against Kubot and Melo, whom they lead 3-2. It was the first time the two veteran duos met in a final, with the Frenchmen saving all four break points they faced.
“When we were one set up I think we were starting not to be more confident, but more relaxed,” Mahut said. “I think we played a high-level game at the end of the match.”
It was a difficult match against a team that has competed together in the Nitto ATP Finals in each of the past three years. But the second seeds managed to secure one break per set to lift the trophy.
“It’s always tough against them. We’ve played them many times,” Mahut said. “It’s always difficult. We know each other pretty well. This time [the match] was on our side. We’re really happy with the way we played.”
Herbert and Mahut earned a share of €8,840 and 250 FedEx ATP Doubles Ranking points, while Kubot and Melo pocketed a split of €6,450 and 150 points each.