With the victory, Herbert and Mahut added the Melbourne Park title to their U.S. Open, Wimbledon and French Open crowns to complete the career Grand Slam.
The Frenchmen, seeded fifth at the year's first Grand Slam, got the only break in the opening set when they broke Kontinen's serve at 4-4 and then Herbert held on.
The second set went on serve before Herbert and Mahut got the upper hand in the tie-breaker to seal the victory in an hour and 38 minutes at the Rod Laver Arena.
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(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
