Pierre Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut beat Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 6-3 7-6 (7-5) to secure the semifinal spot with a record of 2 wins and 1 defeat in the Red Group of the doubles tournament at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
Both teams tied 2-2 in their previous head-to-head matches, but they had not met since 2017.
Herbert and Mahut, who did not drop a set at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals in London en route to becoming the first French champions since 2015, faced a more difficult test this year. They beat Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 in the opening match, but they were beaten 11-13 by Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in the Match Tie-Break.
Murray and Soares took a 3-2 lead, but Herbert and Mahut won four consecutive games with back-to-back breaks. Both teams held on serve until the 11th game of the second set, when Murray and Soares wasted four consecutive games. Herbert and Mahut opened up a 4-1 lead in the tie-break and converted their third match point to reach their third semifinal at the ATP Finals. Herbert and Mahut finished runner-up at the ATP Finals in 2018 and won the 2019 edition.
