Entered in the WTT Finals in Fukuoka, Félix Lebrun can take advantage of it to continue his rise in the world rankings.
Fate was not kind to the Lebrun brothers on Monday. The drawing of the table for the WTT Finals which will begin this Wednesday in Fukuoka has in fact reserved two unpleasant surprises for the two Montpellier residents. The most to complain about was obviously Alexis Lebrun, who immediately inherited Lin Shidong, the world number two and nothing less than the fittest table tennis player since the Games as evidenced by his five tournaments won in six outings.
But Félix Lebrun could also look gloomy since he will meet Benedikt Duda in the first round, his tormentor from the recent European Championships, against whom he has always had difficulty. In three confrontations, he has only won once, and moreover in a beautiful way. The bronze medalist from the last Games is playing big in these WTT Finals.
Félix Lebrun must look behind
Now fourth player in the world, notably thanks to his coronation in Montpellier, Félix Lebrun can indeed still hope to gain a place and settle on the podium of the world rankings. Third in the hierarchy, Fan Zhendong is in fact absent and the Frenchman only has 188 points spent on the Chinese. A victory over Benedikt Duda, which would earn him 265 points, would therefore allow him to overtake him. Will it be enough to occupy the podium? It's not safe.
Behind the Frenchman, several table tennis players are pushing very hard, including Liang Jingkun and Hugo Calderano who follow in the wake of the double Olympic bronze medalist. In the event of a good result, they will double the Habs if they are eliminated too prematurely.