The Frenchman logically lost this Thursday against world number 2, Lin Shidong. All his hopes, and those of his brother Félix, are now focused on the double.
There are no longer any French people in the men’s singles table at the WTT Finals in Fukuoka, the equivalent of the recent Masters in tennis. The day after the defeat of his brother Félix against the German Benedikt Duda, Alexis Lebrun suffered the same fate against Lin Shidong, who has been walking on water for two months even though he was not present at the Olympic Games . Despite a good first round, the French number 2 was then unable to do anything against a big favorite rival of the Japanese tournament (11-8, 7-11, 8-11, 4-11).
The first set thus turned in favor of the Frenchman, despite a timid start to the match during which he lost four points in a row to let his opponent lead the proceedings (2-4). But very quickly, the Montpellier man adjusted his sights and took charge of operations, not without a touch of success which frustrated Lin Shidong. And from his first set point, Alexis Lebrun folded the matter, fist raised (11-8). However, this was only a third of the way covered and more was needed to really destabilize a world number 2 full of confidence from the five titles he has won over the past two and a half months on the WTT circuit. .
Lin Shidong sur son nuage
Thus, while he continued to hold on to him until 3-3, the Frenchman suddenly let go to concede a 6-2 (5-9) synonymous with a flying set against a Chinese suddenly much more solid and enterprising in the exchange (7-11). Behind, Lin Shidong kept his foot on the accelerator and made Alexis Lebrun’s renowned defense suffer, repeatedly overwhelmed (3-8). To his pride, the 14th in the world tried a crazy comeback but it was interrupted at 10-8 for his opponent, who logically won this third set (8-11). Before flying through the next round, completely one-way (4-11).
However, this WTT Finals in Fukuoka is not over for the Lebrun brothers, who qualified in doubles for the semi-finals by beating 3 sets to 1 (6-11, 11-8, 15-13, 14-12 ) the Japanese pair Tomokazu Harimoto and Sora Matsushima. Facing the Japanese duo, pushed by the local public, the brothers started timidly, conceding the first round to their opponents, including the fiery and demonstrative Harimoto. The European champions finally escaped, despite a big scare in the fourth set, when they let 5 match points slip away (10-5 then 10-10). It was finally on the 6th opportunity that they won (14-12).
“This double is a good satisfaction. A very good double. It’s not easy to get into this kind of game. Félix had to get back in the saddle and it’s never easy after a defeat (in singles on Wednesday) and Alexis was making his debut.rejoiced Nathanël Molin, the duo’s coach. “I really liked their reaction as the match progressed. The real strong point today was their ability to stand back when the others were playing really well, in the first set. We found two or three tactical solutions which made them doubt a little. And in the end, we really dominated the match”he added. The Lebruns will start as favorites for a place in the final against their compatriots Esteban Dorr and Florian Bourrassaud who managed to get their ticket to the last four by dominating in five sets the Hong Kong duo made up of Ho Kwan Kit and Siu Hang Lam (9-11 , 8-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-6).
