One turn and then gone. Opposed to Benedikt Duda in the first round of the WTT Finals, Félix Lebrun lost in five rounds to the German, who increasingly looks like a beast for the Montpellier native.
Félix Lebrun could have had it bad after the draw for the WTT Finals. Now fourth player in the world, the Montpellier player had certainly inherited 18e world player, or the lowest ranked player on the field gathered in Fukuoka. But Benedikt Duda is clearly one of the least successful players for the bronze medalist of the last Games. Winner of two of their three previous confrontations, the German notably brought down the Habs during the recent European Championships.
While he was leading 3 sets to 1, the Hérault resident finally lost handily, exploding after the match point to the point of throwing his racket, which earned him a disqualification. The start of the meeting was therefore particularly anticipated. And despite a success – and a net – clearly on the side of his opponent, Félix Lebrun started the match perfectly by winning the first round 11-9.
Félix Lebrun found his pet peeve
The rest was unfortunately much more complicated, the Frenchman sometimes seeming without a solution against an opponent hardly bothered by his game. After having equalized at one set all by winning the second set (11-6), Benedikt Duda thus came to the end of the resistance of Félix Lebrun in the third set, won at the end of the suspense (14-12).
With his back to the wall, Félix Lebrun started the fourth round with a bang (7-1) and went the distance to win 11-6. As in Linz, the fate of the match was played out and once again the German had the last word, negotiating this fifth round perfectly to win 11-9 and further frustrate the Habs.
