Frances Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut have clinched a place in an Australian Open mens doubles final once again. The fifth-seeded Frenchmen saw off USAs Ryan Harrison and Sam Querrey 6-4 6-2 in the semi-final.
The match started with three consecutive breaks as Herbert and Mahut led 2-1 after the opening three games. No more breaks were seen during the first set as the Frenchmen clinched the opener. 2015 Australian Open runners-up Herbert and Mahut blew two break points in the third game of the second set but broke the American duo in the fifth and eighth game to seal a straight-set win.
Herbert and Mahut won 77 percent of their first serve points and converted 4-of-7 of their break point chances in an hour and 10 minutes of action. Herbert and Mahut will be meeting No. 12 seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers in the final.
2017 Australian Open champions Kontinen and Peers defeated Argentinas Leonardo Mayer and Portuguese Joao Sousa 6-1 7-6 (6). Kontinen and Peers saved a break point in the opening game of the match before they broke Mayer and Sousa in the fourth and sixth game to comfortably seal the opener.
Mayer and Sousa got broken in the seventh game of the second set — but then saved a match point in the ninth game — before they broke back Kontinen and Peers in the 10th game to eventually force a decider. Yet, they fell short of making a big comeback as the No.
12 seeds got the job done in the tie-break. Mayer and Sousa saved one more match point in the tie-break but Kontinen and Peers converted their third match point to clinch the win after an hour and 27 minutes of play. Kontinen and Peers hit 24 winners and converted 3-of-5 of their break point chances.
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