If you were one of the best in the world at one part of your job, but you really wanted to pursue another aspect, in which you were very good but still growing and learning, which would you choose?
For now, Pierre-Hugues Herbert chooses both – doubles, in which he’s won nine titles, including four ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns – and singles, in which he’s reached an ATP World Tour final and is No. 72 in the Emirates ATP Rankings but eager to climb.
“It’s not an easy thing. Playing both is really tough. Every week you’re playing two tournaments,” Herbert said. “And it’s not easy to choose the tournaments you want to play.”
This week, the 26-year-old Herbert is choosing his priority – singles – at the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open in Newport, where he’s making his debut at the historic event. The fourth seed won his opener on Wednesday, saving 11 of 15 break points and coming back from a break down in the third set to beat Spaniard Adrian Menendez-Maceiras 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.
“It’s a great place, a great venue. I’m happy to be here to discover a new place,” Herbert said. “I’m happy to be through to the quarter-finals.”
The grass-court season was a week longer this year – six weeks instead of five – but it still wasn’t quite long enough for Herbert, who prefers the old-school serve and volleying that often thrives on lawns.
“I wanted to extend my grass-court season to play a lot on grass… I like grass courts. I’m an offensive player. It’s a surface that fits my game,” Herbert said.
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The right-hander also had heard good things about Newport from a reliable source, his doubles partner and countryman Nicolas Mahut. “He told me that it’s a great place to be,” Herbert said. “It’s a special grass court. Everybody is going to tell you that.”
Mahut couldn’t come this year – he’s the best man in Julien Benneteau’s wedding this weekend – but Herbert will try to replicate his teammate’s experiences in Rhode Island. The 35-year-old Mahut has reached the Newport final two times, falling in the 2007 final to Fabrice Santoro before beating former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt for the 2013 title.
Herbert and Mahut generally play at the same tournament. They plan their schedules at least two months in advance, and their singles rankings, which determine which tournaments they can automatically enter, largely rule the conversation, Herbert said.
This season, Herbert has played at least a qualifying singles match at 15 ATP World Tour tournaments and has a 9-12 record. In doubles, he’s played at 12 ATP events and has gone 17-9.
“It’s always doubles that is going to be sacrified for the singles. At my age, I’m 26, and I have big goals in singles,” Herbert said. “But even if I’m always playing doubles, I’ll play full and I’ll try to get the win in the end. But it’s the singles that is taking the priority… I think I can achieve much more and I’ll try to get my ranking up. I’ll try to enter the Top 50 and who knows, maybe in the future if I continue to get better, maybe I’ll have a chance to be a really good player.”
On Friday, Herbert will try to reach his second ATP World Tour semi-final of the season when he meets American Bjorn Fratangelo. Herbert fell in the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament semi-finals in February to Dominic Thiem. The Frenchman’s prior best singles result came nearby, on the East Coast of the U.S., when he reached the 2015 Winston-Salem Open final (l. to Kevin Anderson).
“I like playing in the States. It’s a beautiful country. It’s a big country with everything… So I’m enjoying my time here and I’ll try to do better this week.”
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