Olympics 2021 (tennis): the fiasco for the Herbert / Mahut pair
Legitimate contenders for a medal, Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert were eliminated in the first round of the doubles tournament at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
As in Rio, the pair Nicolas Mahut / Pierre-Hugues Herbert was released this Saturday in the first round of the tennis tournament at the Tokyo Olympics, beaten by the British Andy Murray and Joe Salisbury, 6-3, 6-2.
It’s a big disappointment for French tennis. Mahut / Herbert, world No. 2 in doubles and overall winners of the four Grand Slam tournaments including Roland-Garros last June, represented the most serious chance for a French medal in the discipline.
Five years ago, the French duo also fell as soon as they entered the competition against Colombians Robert Farah / Juan Sebastien Cabal (7-6, 6-3).
Herbert, injured in the thigh at Wimbledon, had nevertheless been reassuring when arriving in Tokyo, ensuring to feel better and not to feel any more pain, even if the two men had hardly had the opportunity to train together these last few weeks.
Chardy / Monfils also involved
Dominated on Saturday, the French never really managed to impose their tennis against the British. In the first set, two double faults from Herbert allowed Murray, two-time Olympic singles champion, and Salisbury to break in the seventh game and pocket the win in the first set.
In the second set, the French gave up their faceoff twice. The match only lasted 1h15.
In the next round, Murray and Salisbury will meet the German pair consisting of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz. France will have another chance in doubles with the pair Jérémy Chardy / Gaël Monfils entering the competition on Saturday.
