the French assured of a men's doubles final at the WTT Finals in Japan

There will be French people in the men's doubles final of the prestigious WTT (World table tennis) Finals, a tournament which brings together the cream of table tennis in Fukuoka (Japan) in the last competition of the year. Brothers Alexis and Félix Lebrun qualified on Thursday November 21, beating the Japanese pair Tomokazu Harimoto and Sora Matsushima 3 sets to 1 (6-11, 11-8, 15-13, 14-12).

Their compatriots Esteban Dorr and Florian Bourrassaud imitated them a few hours later by overcoming, 3-2, the Hong Kongers Siu Hang Lam and Kwan Kit Ho (9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11 -6). The Franco-French semi-final will be played on Friday November 22 at 6:45 a.m. Paris time.

Facing the Japanese duo, pushed by the local public, the Lebrun brothers, world number 2 in doubles, started timidly, conceding the first set to their opponents, ranked 12th in the world. The reigning European champions even gave themselves a big scare in the fourth set, letting five match points slip away. It was finally on the sixth opportunity that they won (14-12).

« This double is a good satisfactionNathanël Molin, the duo's coach, rejoiced to AFP. Félix had to get back in the saddle and it's never easy after a defeat [en simple mercredi] and Alexis made his entrance » in the tournament. “The real strong point 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 two brothers are among the favorites to win the doubles title. They will face in the semi-final the other French pair, made up of Esteban Dorr and Florian Bourrassaud, both 24 years old, who, trailing two rounds to zero, were able to raise their level of play against the Hong Kong team.

Alexis Lebrun released in his first match

This semi-final and the prospect of playing in a final constitute a consolation for the Lebrun brothers, both of whom were eliminated in singles. Félix was defeated on Wednesday November 20 by the German Benedikt Duda (3-2), who had become his nemesis. Thursday, Alexis, ranked 14th, did not do better against one of the best players in the world, and favorite of the tournament, the Chinese Shidong Lin, aged 19.

Although he had beaten him in May in Taiwan (3-1), the Montpellier native did not approach the meeting with confidence after a defeat against him at the beginning of November, in the first round of the WTT Champions in Frankfurt – tournament that the Chinese table tennis player had won, like five of the last six WTT Champions tournaments.

If Alexis Lebrun was offensive, with a short game on his opponent's forehand, and pocketed the first set (11-8), a gap in the second set was fatal to him, Shidong Lin raising his voice and accelerating the blows to win in the next three sets (7-11, 8-11, 4-11).

The results of the 2024 season remain excellent for the two Lebrun brothers, champion and vice-champion of France, European doubles champions, silver medalists at the World Team Championships in Busan (South Korea) and bronze medalists at the 2024 Games. Paris.

Félix Lebrun, who celebrated his 18th birthday in September, also won a historic medal of the same metal in the Olympic individual tournament, while his eldest (21 years old) won the European championship in October.

Their good results in doubles at the WTT Finals in Fukuoka could secure them first place in the world, to the detriment of the Chinese pair Lien Yuan and Peng Xiang.