After the suffering the loss of the withdrawal of Rafael Nadal to a knee injury after his defeat to David Goffin on Monday, the ATP Finals have suffered some more bad news today.
The former World No.1 doubles team pairing of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut have been forced to retire ahead of their final doubles match. Herbert suffered a lower back injury in a pre-match warm-up earlier this morning.
Herbert/Mahut had earned a 1-1 record at this year’s finals. They had defeated Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau in their first match. They had then come out second best against Michael Venus and Ryan Harrison. The move means ATP Finals spectators will be treated to a match between defending champions Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram, and Henri Kontinen and John Peers. Klaasen/Ram despite being the defending champions are the alternates after failing to qualify for the event directly.
The news could have ramifications for France’s hopes of winning the Davis Cup. They take on Belgium in the final next weekend. Herbert and Mahut had been nominated as the doubles team for the final. It remains to be seen weather the injury sustained at the Nitto ATP Finals is serious or if the withdrawal was just a precautionary measure ahead of tennis’ most important team event of the year.
As a result of Herbert/Mahut’s withdrawal, Henri Kontinen and John Peers have qualified for the semi-finals in London.
