A capital feat then disappointment. The hope of French table tennis Alexis Lebrun, 19, offered himself the world No.1, the Chinese Fan Zhendong, Friday at the WTT Champions tournament in Macau. On the match point, the Frenchman did not want to exult at first. He indeed began by apologizing after his ball bounced off the edge of the table… Then he threw himself into the arms of his coach. Nevertheless, on Saturday, the French lost in the semi-final.
The Montpellier, 22nd in the world, won in five sets (11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9) against the Olympic vice-champion of Tokyo and qualified for the semis. -finals. Unfortunately for him, facing Olympic champion and world number 4 Ma Long, the step was too high and the French lost 4 sets to 1 (11-8, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11- 8).
” It’s a crazy thing ! I don’t realize too much. I tried to vary as much as possible and set up my power game and it worked really well. I had a level of service that I have rarely had,” said the winner after his quarter-final.
With his younger brother Félix, 16, 2nd Frenchman in the world ranking (34th), Lebrun took the bronze medal in doubles at the European Championships last year. The two boys met in the final of the French Championship last month in singles to the advantage of the eldest, who was defending champion.
“We feel that something is changing in the French ping and that there is a lot of enthusiasm around us. It’s a great pleasure, ”rejoiced Alexis Lebrun in Macao.
