New Zealand's Michael Venus has fallen short of another doubles final at a major ATP tournament, beaten in the semifinals in Cincinnati.
Kiwi Venus and American Ryan Harrison were toppled by French pair Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 6-4 7-6.
The beaten pair had prevailed in marathon three-set affairs in their two previous matches at the Western and Southern Open.
However, they couldn't repeat the dose against the tournament fifth seeds, missing out on a place in their first final since the French Open triumph in Paris two months ago.
Reaching the semis will nevertheless be valuable for Venus and Harrison, who are targetting a place at the lucrative ATP Finals in London in November.