Félix Lebrun, worn out by his long and incredible season, was eliminated from the start on Wednesday at the WTT Finals in Fukuoka, a competition which brings together the best table tennis players of the year during the final meeting of the season, beaten 3 sets to 2 by the German Benedikt Duda.
The new star of French sport, 18 years old and 4th in the world, concluded his season with a close defeat (9-11, 11-6, 14-12, 6-11, 11-9) against the man who had stopped him in the quarter-finals of the European Championships in Linz in October. “It was a difficult match to manage against an opponent who played it wellexplained to theAFP the Frenchman's trainer, Nathanaël Molin. There was a little lack of general energy, the little extra that helps swing the match. And yet, Felix tried everything to get her. He fought hard to stay in the match but it wasn't enough.”
“Félix needs a real period to come down a little after what we have just experienced over the last 3 or 4 months and to get back to training and a slightly more 'normal' daily life.” added Molin.
The double to come
The WTT Finals are the equivalent of the tennis Masters and bring together the 16 best players in the world. Among the men, two Chinese big names are simply missing: double Olympic champion (singles and team) Fan Zhendong, and Ma Long, 36, six-time gold medalist (including the team title in 2024).
These absences allowed Duda to rejoin the competition. Thursday, Alexis Lebrun, the eldest of the siblings, 21 years old and 14th in the world, will have a lot to do for his entry into the running against the Chinese Lin Shidong, world No.2, recent winner of the WTT Champions in Frankfurt but also among others of the Big Smash in Beijing this season.
In doubles, the two French pairs, on one side the Lebrun brothers and on the other Florian Bourrassaud and Esteban Dorr, will also play their first round, a quarter-final, on Thursday.
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