4th in the world, the Frenchman suffered the law of the German Benedikt Duda, as was the case during the last European Championships.
Félix Lebrun knew the danger represented by Benedikt Duda. A month ago, the German eliminated him in the quarter-finals of the European Championships to everyone's surprise. A success that he repeated (9-11, 11-6, 14-12, 6-11, 11-9) this Wednesday during the round of 16 of the Fukuoka Masters, taking full advantage of his left-handed game which destabilizes the French, 18 years old.
The first set had however turned to the advantage of the Frenchman, more solid in the exchange (11 points to 9). But from the start of the second round, the German, who has been playing the best “ping” of his career for two months, began to reverse the situation, particularly with his serve on which the Montpellier native struggled to find solutions. It then only took a handful of minutes for Duda to erase his delay and return to a set everywhere (6-11).
The third act began on the same trend, with a dominant 18th in the world to score two set points at 10-8. But Félix Lebrun held on and erased them both. Then two more in an unbreathable atmosphere but he was unable to take his opponent's service and on Duda's 5th opportunity, he took the advantage (12-14). The ascendancy was short-lived, however, as the fourth round turned into a solo affair for the Frenchman, completely revived by an impeccable 11-6.
Alas, the final set came to break its good dynamic with a German who quickly broke away 5-2, then 8-4 on a direct error in the service of a somewhat disillusioned Frenchman. Pridefully, he managed to give his rival one last little thrill by coming back to 7-9 but at 30, Duda did not give in and he concluded the deal on his third match point (9-11).
