The O2 has not been the best venue for Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert the last two seasons, with the Frenchmen holding a 1-5 record in their first two Nitto ATP Finals appearances. But Herbert and Mahut got off to a good start in their third season finale, saving one match point to defeat Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, 1-6, 7-6(7), 10-8. Double faults proved costly for the Dutch-Romanian pairing, who looked the stronger duo for much of the match. At 7/7 in the second-set tie-break, Tecau hit a double fault to allow Herbert to serve out the set, which he did when Mahut put away a sitting return with a backhand volley. [ALSO LIKE] In the Match Tie-break, Rojer...
Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus got off to a winning start in Group Eltingh/Haarhuis at the Nitto ATP Finals on Sunday by denting the aspirations of Henri Kontinen and John Peers, who are vying to become year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings. Eighth seeds Harrison and Venus, this year’s Roland Garros champions and making their debuts at The O2 this week, defeated second seeds Kontinen and Peers 6-4, 7-6(8) in 90 minutes. Peers came under extreme pressure in his first three service games – resulting in deciding deuce points on each occasion. Harrison and Venus got their reward on Peers' serve at 4-4, when Kontinen hit a forehand volley into the net. Harrison and Venus continued...
Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo are the team to beat as the ATP World Tour shifts its focus to the Nitto ATP Finals. The Polish-Brazilian pair backed up their bid to finish the year as the No. 1 duo, notching a sixth title in total and third at the Masters 1000 level on Sunday at the Rolex Paris Masters. Kubot and Melo won a final battle over Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers 7-6(3), 3-6, 10/6, rallying from a 2/5 deficit in the Match Tie-break. They failed to convert on all six break points earned, but came up clutch in the big moments to claim victory after a marathon one hour and 55 minutes. "We are the team that played the...