“It’s a crazy season. I think he's signing to do ten seasons like this.”enthuses Christophe Legoût, sports director of the French Table Tennis Federation about Félix Lebrun's 2024 exercise despite the latter's elimination in the round of 16 of the WTT Finals in Fukuoka, Japan, Wednesday November 20 .
For his last tournament of the season Félix Lebrun fell as soon as he entered the fray against Benedikt Duda in five sets (11-9, 6-11, 12-14, 11-6, 9-11). A new defeat against his nemesis who eliminated him at the European Championships last October. “If he loses today, it’s because he lost in Europe. This defeat, in my opinion, was because he was a little blunt. He had the match in hand, he had a match point, it didn't come down to much. I am convinced that if he had won in Europe, he would have won today. Because he lost 11-9 in the end. The defeat of the WTT Finals is linked to that of Europe. Yes, we can call it a poor performance, he doesn't like playing against him. He feels a little less comfortable than against others”analyzes Christophe Legoût.
“You have less confidence in your choices”
For the sports director of the French ping federation, more than physical fatigue, the mental aspect played an important role in this defeat: “At the end of the match, obviously, when you arrive at the important moments and you remember your previous defeat, yes it comes back to your mind and you have a little less confidence in your choices. It's just normal what happened to him. It also happened to the best players in the world. » What’s next? Félix Lebrun will have the opportunity to bounce back in Japan, in doubles, with his older brother Alexis.
READ ALSO. Table tennis. Félix Lebrun climbs to 4th place in the world, the best ranking of his career
The young Héraultais, barely 18 years old, has had a completely crazy year: double Olympic medalist at the Paris 2024 Games, European champion in doubles, winner of the WTT Champions Montpellier, and a 4th place in the world rankings. “Just crazy”summarizes Christophe Legoût.
