Kontinen/Peers rally past local favorites for Paris Masters doubles title (updated with quotes)

ATP doubles world No. 21 Henri Kontinen of Finland and No. 25 John Peers of Australia beat top-seeded Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in full sets here on Sunday to lift the Paris Masters doubles trophy.

The unseeded duo broke their opponents as early as in the third game of the first set before wrapping up a 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 victory in one hour and 15 minutes.

"We were behind the score from the start, and that was bad. But after, indeed we came back. In the second set we were able to be ahead," said Mahut after the match.

"But the super-tiebreak is always something very special. They continued to play well, and they were a bit lucky here and there with some shots. In a super-tiebreak where every point is important, it made it tough," said the 34-year-old.

Kontinen, 26, hit out six aces but committed four double faults, alongside with Peers' five aces and just one double fault, while Herbert, 25, and Mahut had altogether a 7-5 record.

With the victory, Kontinen/Peers, who first teamed up at Brisbane in January, revenged their quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon, where the Frenchmen came out the eventual winners.

It was the first Masters 1000 crown for Kontinen/Peers, while Herbert/Mahut failed to claim their fourth title of this level in 2016. Ahead of Sunday's final, the French duo had a 41-9 match record with five titles in six finals.

It has been 10 years without a French pair having captured the title in Bercy since Arnaud Clement/Michael Llodra in 2006. Enditem