There will be Frenchmen in the men’s doubles final of the prestigious WTT (World Table Tennis) Finals, a tournament that brings together the best of table tennis in Fukuoka (Japan) in the last competition of the year. Brothers Alexis and Félix Lebrun qualified on Thursday, November 21, beating the Japanese pair Tomokazu Harimoto and Sora Matsushima by 3 sets to 1 (6-11, 11-8, 15-13, 14-12).
Their compatriots Esteban Dorr and Florian Bourrassaud imitated them a few hours later by beating Hong Kong’s Siu Hang Lam and Kwan Kit Ho 3-2 (9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11- 6). ). The Franco-French semi-final will be played on Friday, November 22 at 6:45 Paris time.
In front of the Japanese duo, pushed by the local crowd, the Lebrun brothers, number 2 in the world in doubles, started timidly, giving up the first set to their opponents, 12th in the world. The reigning European champions even gave themselves a big scare in the fourth set, letting five match points slip away. Finally, on the sixth opportunity they won (14-12).
“ This double is a good satisfaction.Nathanël Molin, the duo’s coach, told AFP. Félix had to get back on the saddle and it is never easy after a defeat [en simple mercredi] and Alexis made his entrance » in the tournament. “The real strength was his ability to fall behind when the others were playing very well, in the first set. We found two or three tactical solutions that made them hesitate a little. And in the end we really dominated the game”he added.
The two brothers are among the favorites to win the doubles title. They will face in the semifinals the other French couple, formed by Esteban Dorr and Florian Bourrassaud, both 24 years old, who, losing two games to zero, knew how to raise their level of play against the Hong Kong team.
Alexis Lebrun released in his first game
This semi-final and the prospect of playing in a final are a consolation for the Lebrun brothers, both eliminated in singles. Félix was defeated on Wednesday, November 20, by the German Benedikt Duda (3-2), who had become his nemesis. On Thursday, Alexis, 14th ranked, did no better against one of the best players in the world and tournament favorite, 19-year-old Chinese Shidong Lin.
Although he had beaten him in May in Taiwan (3-1), the man from Montpellier did not approach the match with confidence after a defeat against him at the beginning of November, in the first round of the WTT Champions in Frankfurt, a tournament that the tennis player from Chinese table had won five of the last six WTT Champions tournaments.
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If Alexis Lebrun was offensive, with a short game on his opponent’s forehand, and pocketed the first set (11-8), a gap in the second set was fatal, Shidong Lin raised his voice and accelerated the blows to win in the next three sets (7-11, 8-11, 4-11).
The results of the 2024 season continue to be excellent for the two Lebrun brothers, champion and runner-up of France, European champions in doubles, silver medalists at the World Team Championships in Busan (South Korea) and bronze medalists in the Paris 2024 Games.
Félix Lebrun, who turned 18 in September, also won a historic medal of the same metal in the individual Olympic tournament, while the oldest (21 years old) won the European championship in October.
Their good results in doubles at the WTT Finals in Fukuoka could secure them first place in the world, to the detriment of the Chinese couple Lien Yuan and Peng Xiang.
