Mahut/Pospisil Capture Marseille Trophy
In just their third event as a team, Nicolas Mahut and Vasek Pospisil lifted their second team title at the Open 13 Provence on Sunday.
The French-Canadian tandem, making its first appearance since winning the 2016 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, saved both break points it faced to take the title after 72 minutes.
“It was an incredible week. Honestly, I thought we played really clean the whole way through from the first round,” said Pospisil. “We played really solid. Served well, returned well all week and we had a great energy on the court. That’s obviously very important in doubles.”
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Mahut and Pospisil have won eight consecutive matches as a pairing, with their only defeat coming in 2015 on their team debut in Rotterdam. The unseeded duo did not drop a set en route to the title in Marseille, which included back-to-back victories against top seeds Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies and second seeds Koolhof and Mektic.
This is Mahut’s third title run in Marseille. The Frenchman triumphed alongside Edouard Roger-Vasselin in 2012 and also lifted the trophy with Julien Benneteau in 2017. Mahut owns 30 tour-level doubles crowns.
“It is always special to win a tournament at home. We don’t play that much in France,” said Mahut. “When you have the opportunity to play in France, most of the time I do it. When you have the chance to play with a good partner like Vasek, it is a great opportunity. I am really happy about this win.”
Pospisil improves to 7-7 in tour-level doubles championship matches. This is the Canadian’s first ATP Tour doubles title since claiming the Rotterdam trophy with Mahut in 2016.
“It’s a pleasure playing with Nico, I think he’s the best doubles player in the world, in my opinion,” said Pospisil. “[He has] the best volleys and he’s also a really good guy. I think we just have a great time on the court and we are a great team.”
Koolhof and Mektic were attempting to capture their first title in their maiden final as a team. The second seeds began their partnership last month at the Adelaide International and own a 5-4 record.
Mahut and Pospisil receive 250 FedEx ATP Doubles Ranking points and share €39,130 in prize money. Koolhof and Mektic gain 150 points and split €20,050.