© JBAutissier Panoramic / Open Sud de France
Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert in action on Day 5 in Montpellier.
Saville/Smith reach final in Pune
Top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut continued their title pursuit at the Open Sud de France Friday, defeating Luca Van Assche and Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg 6-3 6-3 to reach the semi-finals.
The Frenchmen have won 20 tour-level titles together, including five Grand Slam crowns and two Nitto ATP Finals trophies. However, they are teaming for the first time this season this week on home soil in Montpellier.
In a dominant display against their countrymen, Herbert and Mahut won 92 per cent (22/24) of their first-serve points to advance after 55 minutes as they showed little sign of rustiness.
They will next play Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara after the British-Finn tandem moved past Jonny O’Mara and Hunter Reese 6-3, 6-4 in 68 minutes. Glasspool and Heliovaara have tasted success in France together before, clinching the trophy in Marseille last season.
Sousa Returns To SFs In Pune
Saville/Smith Soar Into Pune Final
Elsewhere, at the Tata Open Maharashtra, top seeds Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith advanced to their first tour-level final as a team.
The Australians overcame Indians N.Sriram Balaji and Vishnu Vardhan 6-2, 6-4 in the semi-finals in Pune to end the home pairing’s run at the ATP 250 tournament. Saville and Smith did not face a break point en route to their 62-minute win.
They will face either second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan or Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul in the final. Bopanna and Ramanathan will meet Doumbia and Reboul on Saturday.