Feliciano and Marc Lopez kept their semifinal hopes alive with a 7-5 5-7 10-8 win over Pierre-Hughes Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.
Both teams were dominant on serve and showed real tenacity. Not one break point was created until until the eleventh game when the Spaniard’s broke serve on their first opportunity to lead 6-5. They then held serve to 15, to grab the first set 7-5.
The Spanish duo continued their momentum into the second set by breaking in the very first game to lead 1-0. However this lead wouldn’t last long as the French pair capitialised on a lack of concentration from the Spaniard’s and they broke to love to level the second set at 2-2. There were no other break point opportunities created, until the twelfth game where Herbert and Mahut, who have dominated 2016, broke and sealed the second set 7-5.
In the first match tiebreak of the week, there were a number of mini-breaks but the French pair felt the pressure and the Lopez’s, unrelated, grabbed the opportunity with both hands and took the match tiebreak 10-8. The win means that Feliciano and Marc Lopez have set up a winners take all match against Klaasen and Ram, with the winners advancing to the semifinals. It also means that Kontinen and Peers will top group Fleming and McEnroe and advance to the semifinals while Pierre-Hughes Herbert and Nicolas Mahut have been eliminated from the tournament.
Analysis
Feliciano and Marc Lopez played well, despite conditions not typically favouring the Spanish duo. They took the game to the current Wimbledon champions and thoroughly deserved their victory. However Pierre-Hughes Herbert and Nicolas Mahut cracked under pressure and didn’t win the key points when they needed to. Doubles is decided on one or two points here and there, and those points unfortunately cost the French duo. It is an unfortunate end to what has been an incredible season for Herbert and Mahut. They will hope to make amends on Friday when they play the in-form Henri Kontinen and John Peers.
