Mighty in Marseille! Bonzi & Herbert reign supreme on home soil

Benjamin Bonzi and Pierre-Hugues Herbert completed an imposing week Sunday at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille, where they lifted their first trophy as a team.

The French duo defeated second seeds Sander Gille and Jan Zielinski 6-3, 6-4 to claim the title at the indoor hard-court ATP 250 on home soil. Bonzi/Herbert won 92 per cent (34/37) of first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to a 67-minute victory.

“It was a long time since we wanted to share the court and try to have a week together,” said Bonzi. “We tried to play in Montpellier last year, but we never managed to, so we were so happy to be able to play here. It was amazing to be able to win the tournament and play the level that we did in the finals.”

Herbert added: "It was a very good week to win in Marseille, I live there so it was special. We stepped up after every match, the level was great. We know each other better now, the combination and the secret tactics.”

_{^{Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Benjamin Bonzi celebrate with friends and family after winning the title at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille. Photo: Corinne Dubreuil/Open 13}}

Bonzi and Herbert teamed for the first time earlier this month to clinch France’s Davis Cup victory over Brazil in a decisive doubles rubber. In Marseille, they defeated top seeds Hugo Nys and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the semi-finals before producing a commanding display in the title tilt, in which they did not face a break point and carved out 11 of their own. The Frenchmen now hold a perfect 5-0 record as a team.

Gille and Zielinski were competing in their second final in as many weeks after they lost to Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the championship match at the ATP 500 in Rotterdam last Sunday. The Belgian-Polish duo, which made its debut in Adelaide in January, is 8-4 on the season.