For his fourth match of the day, the Montpellier player, 7th in the world, lost, to everyone’s surprise, against the German Benedikt Duda (4-3).
A racket throw, to evacuate the frustration of a match which could not escape the French ping prodigy. Félix Lebrun, just 18 years old, a sensation in French sport since his double bronze at the Paris Games, was favorite (and top seed) in the singles tournament at the European Championships in Linz.
3-1 then 4-0, and not much more
Was, because the Montpellier was knocked out to everyone’s surprise, this Saturday evening, against the experienced German Benedikt Duda (28th in the world). After two controlled first sets (11-5, 11-4), Félix Lebrun left the 3rd set to his opponent (9-11), but accelerated to lead 3-1 (11-6) and probably head towards success and a qualification in the semi-finals, leading 4-0 in the 5th set… But Alexis’ younger brother subsequently collapsed to let Duda inflict an 11-2 (11-6) on him. The 6th set was played with a knife and saw Duda winning attrition (14-16).
? RED CARD FOR FELIX
Felix Lebrun received a red card after his racket throw, following his defeat in the quarter-finals of the European Championships!#lequipeTTABLE pic.twitter.com/MNKG9VBu6A
— the L’Équipe channel (@lachainelequipe) https://twitter.com/lachainelequipe/status/1847711403924218155?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In the decisive set, certainly physically and mentally exhausted for his fourth match of the day (two singles and two doubles), the Montpellier gave in 6-11 and threw his racket to the ground in rage.
Result, a red card awarded by the judges, which could have an impact on the doubles final that the 7th in the world must play with his brother Alexis on Sunday.
