Home joy as Herbert and Mahut win
PARIS: Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert became the third home duo to win the French Open men’s doubles when they beat second seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) on Saturday.
French fans were in full voice on Court Philippe Chatrier as Mahut and Herbert comfortably won the opening set.
The second set was closer as Austrian Marach and Croatian Pavic broke back, having dropped serve in the seventh game, and forced the set into a tie-breaker.
Mahut and Herbert held their nerve though and took the tie-break when Herbert punched away a volley to spark wild celebrations from the pair who had previously won the 2015 US Open and 2016 Wimbledon.
The only other all-French pairs to win the men’s doubles at Roland Garros were Julien Benneteau and Edouard RogerVasselin in 2014 and Henri Leconte and Yannick Noah in 1984.
Noah, France’s Davis Cup captain, watched from the stands, joining in the home celebrations.
Meanwhile Cori Gauff defeated Caty McNally 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/1) in an all-American final to win the girls’ title.
Aged 14, Gauff was the youngest player in the singles draw.
“It was a tough fight, but at the end it was worth it,” said Gauff after the match, which featured 15 breaks of serve.
Gauff regularly trains at the academy set up by Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams’s coach.