All-French Wimbledon Doubles Final Locked In

History will be made at Wimbledon with the tournament’s first all-French doubles final after top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut and Julien Benneteau/Edouard Roger-Vasselin won hard fought semi-final matches on Thursday.

Herbert/Mahut survived a five-set battle against No. 12 seeds Treat Huey/Max Mirnyi, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4, while Benneteau/Roger-Vasselin defeated No. 11 seeds Raven Klaasen/Rajeev Ram, 7-5, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(5). The two French teams have only played each other once, with Herbert/Mahut prevailing in a deciding set in the quarter-finals at last year’s Australian Open. Only one all-French doubles team has won Wimbledon in the Open era (Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra in 2007). The last all-French doubles final at a Grand Slam took place at Roland Garros in 1932.

Mahut has now reached the doubles final of all four Grand Slams, while Herbert reached his first Wimbledon final. The pair won last year’s US Open and finished as runner-up at last year’s Australian Open.

Benneteau and Roger-Vasselin haven’t reached a Grand Slam final since prevailing at Roland Garros in 2014. Roger-Vasselin’s best Wimbledon result is a semi-final finish in 2013 (w/Rohan Bopanna), while Benneteau reached three quarter-finals in 2010 (w/Michael Llodra), 2013 (w/Nenad Zimonjic) and 2014 (w/Roger-Vasselin)

Herbert/Mahut broke serve in the first game of their match and rode that momentum all the way to the opening set. Huey/Mirnyi earned their first break of the match on a double fault to lead 5-3 in the second set and then held serve comfortably in the next game to level the match at one set each.

Both teams held serve all the way through the third set to force a tie-break, where Huey/Mirnyi went on a four-game run to lead 6/2 and then took a commanding lead after winning their second set point. A backhand winner from Mahut gave the French pair the lone break of the fourth set to lead 5-4 and they forced a deciding fifth set in the next game.

The teams traded routine service holds in the final set until 4-4, when the top seeds were gifted a break of serve on a double fault. Herbert/Mahut held to love in the next game, with Mahut firing an ace on match point to send them into the final.

Benneteau/Roger-Vasselin grabbed the lone break of serve at 5-5 in the opening set of their match and served it out one game later, then repeated that script by earning the only break in the second set to lead 4-3. Klaasen and Ram were unable to convert on four break point opportunities in the first set, but didn’t have a single opportunity in the second set as the French pair took a commanding two-sets lead.

The No. 11 seeds finally made good in a return game by breaking to lead 6-5 in the third set and comfortably holding serve one game later to close the gap. Both teams held serve throughout the fourth set to force a tie-break, where Benneteau/Roger-Vasselin went on a four point run to lead 6/2. Klaasen and Ram nearly staged a comeback, but the Frenchmen prevailed on their fourth match point.