More than a month after his injury to the little finger of the right hand, during a gesture of nervousness, in the final of the French championships, Alexis Lebrun is well back to business. But with some uncertainties. The tricolor, 9th in the world, will travel to Doha for the Worlds and will make a decision at the last moment as to his participation.
On March 23, after his defeat against his little brother Félix, in the final of the French championships, Alexis typed the table of the fist. Result: Fracture of the little finger, operation and immobilization. “Today, I still have a fracture. I was put on a metal plate. Afterwards, you have to be careful because it is not completely consolidated. Above all, the most difficult to manage is that my wrist is no longer used to moving. Just like my elbow, my shoulder, my back, my knees. Training at very high intensity, it uses the body. The hardest part to manage, “explains Alexis, currently on an internship in Nantes with the entire French team.
Patience was in order
Alexis had to be patient. On the program: physical work, family time and rest. “He worked a lot physically, he worked mentally, in fact he worked all the sectors he could work in this period. He trained, time level, almost in the same way, between 6 to 8 hours a day, but very different from usual, without racket,” explains Nathanael Molin, the coach of the Lebrun brothers. During this period, Alexis also had to miss two tournaments, the WTT Champions of Incheon and the World Cup in Macao. “Of course, I would have liked it to be there for the three weeks we spent in Asia,” smiles Félix, the little brother. “There have been small moments a little different from what we usually live,” adds Nathanaël.
-But now the lights are almost all green. Alexis has been, since last Thursday, with the whole French team, on an internship at CREPS, near Nantes, to best prepare the organized world championships, in Doha, Qatar, from May 17 to 25. “From time to time, it reacts well and it goes faster. From time to time, it reacts badly and it goes slower,” explains Alexis, released from a finger attellfish for some time.
In Doha, during the Worlds who started on May 17, he is aligned in simple and double with his little brother Félix. “The goal is to put as much as possible to be there and to be performing there. There, I am already a little early on rehabilitation. Being able to come to the internship in Nantes, it was a big victory,” smiles Alexis. Nathanael Molin his coach remains cautious. “He trains but we can’t say 100%yet, but it is going positively. He’s going to see the rest. The project is to go to the Worlds, and we will make the final decision at the last moment. We take place a plan as if he was going to play, now we allow ourselves the right to make the final decision,” details the coach.
The entrance to Alexis, at the world championships, in simple, is scheduled for next Saturday. He will be opposed to the first round, in simple, to Kokou Fanny, a 38 -year -old Togolese player. And the next day, the start of the double man with Félix. Both are numbers a world and seeded one.
