PARIS, June 13: The French doubles pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut fought back from a set and a break down at 4-5 to overcome Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik and Andrey Golubev 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4 and clinch their second French Open title.
In a match that lasted two hours and 11 minutes, the duo became the first all-French team to triumph at Roland Garros twice. It is their fifth Grand Slam title overall, with the team having won the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open titles once.
Before Saturday, the Frenchmen had not won a Grand Slam doubles title since claiming the Australian Open crown in 2019.
Herbert claimed this had dented their confidence, but it has now been “restored”.
After an even start, Bublik and Golubev, who were aiming to become the first Kazakh men to win a Grand Slam title in any discipline, won three games in a row from 2-2, breaking the 2018 Roland Garros champions twice to move 5-2 ahead.
Although the French pair did make it 4-5, Bublik and Golubev held serve to clinch the set.
From there on, the experience of the French pair showed as they took their opportunities, dominating around the net to win their 18th title together. (IANS)
