By Chris Oddo | Sunday November 12, 2017
Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus scored an upset 6-4, 7-6(8) victory over No.2-seeded Henri Kontinen and John Peers on the Nitto ATP Finals debut, and Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert also scored an upset on Day 1 of the ATP Finals, knocking off No.3-seeded Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, 1-6, 7-6(7), 10-8.
The surprise wins for the two lowest-seeded teams in the Elting/Haarhuis group leaves the standings as follows after one day of play.
Kontinen and Peers are the defending doubles champions in London, while Rojer and Tecau won the title in 2015. Kontinen and Peers and Rojer and Tecau swept this year’s hardcourt major titles, with Kontinen and Peers winning in Australian and Rojer and Tecau taking the U.S. Open.
Herbert and Mahut entered this year’s competition with a 1-5 record at the ATP Finals, while Harrison and Venus are making their debut.