At the end of a superb battle, the youngest of the Lebrun siblings gained the upper hand over his eldest, in four sets, in the quarter-final of “their” tournament in Montpellier.
End of the cadet’s curse. Brothers in the city, adversaries at the Arena, Félix and Alexis Lebrun fought a huge battle on Saturday in the quarter-finals of the WTT Champions in Montpellier, from which the 18-year-old junior emerged victorious.
The fratricidal duel, expected for several hours around the Arena Sud de France, in Hérault, kept all its promises, mixing spectacle on the playing area and in the stands. And in this Lebrun-Lebrun match, in the end, it was Félix who won this time, 11-6, 7-11, 16-14, 11-9.
Until now, the duels between the two brothers in official competitions had often turned to the advantage of the 21-year-old elder, although less well ranked than the younger (16th against 7th). In 2024 alone, Alexis Lebrun won twice, in the quarter-finals of the European Top 16 (4-2 victory) in Montreux in January, and in the final of the French championships, again in Montpellier (4- 2).
“I’m happy to go to the half, to still enjoy the atmosphere, I’m enjoying the moment”savored Félix Lebrun – who will challenge the Chinese Lin Shidong, seeded N.1, on Sunday (1:15 p.m.) – in reference to the 6,000 spectators who in turn pushed “Féfé” and “Alex” like we exchange balls.
“He who does not jump is not Lebrun”sang from the stands the Collectif Ultra Lebrun, with the sweet nickname “CUL”, one of the groups of supporters of the two brothers, to put on the show in a full room, illuminated by purple neon lights. “We are going to celebrate both, it will be complicated to celebrate the victory of one or the other”had warned before the meeting one of the founders of “CUL”, Mathieu, 27 years old, whose motto was “every point won is a point won”.
Epic battle, point of the year
In the middle of the tricolor flags and signs bearing their image, the two Montpellier residents, alone on the playing area, deprived of their common coach Nathanaël Molin, clearly did not disappoint.
They notably offered an “extraordinary point”, during a contested third set (16-14), where around twenty blows were exchanged, causing the audience to explode on the spot.
“The point is completely crazy, he (Alexis) brings everything back, then he acts a bit like a joke, he jumps in all directions”laughs Félix Lebrun, who finally pocketed it with a smile, before winning the round. “Both of us at the end looked at each other and laughed, normally these are points that only happen in training”says Alexis for his part.
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The latter admits that his brother “played at a high level, and he (him) lacked a little energy to reach that level”he who was crowned barely a week earlier twice at the European Championships in Linz, in doubles with Félix and in singles. Sitting in the stands, Stéphane Lebrun, former high-level player and also their father, had the impression “to see two little ones playing”. “It was playing very fast, they were having fun, I saw a great match”he rejoiced.
Felix breaks the (small) curse
Until now, the duels between the two Montpellier residents in official competitions had often turned to the advantage of the 21-year-old elder, although less well ranked than the younger one (16th against 7th). In 2024, Alexis Lebrun notably won twice, in the quarter-finals of the European Top 16 (4-2 victory) in Montreux in January, and in the final of the French championships, again in Montpellier (4-2) .
More “since they have been at the same level, it has been two years, they have played each other two or three times so we cannot say that it is a pet peeve”said Stéphane Lebrun.
“Every time I played him since the start of the year I had no regrets at the end of the match”continued Félix who “continues to progress”two months after the historic Olympic Games where he notably won bronze in singles.
At the time, Alexis had encouraged him from the stands in Paris. It will be the same again on Sunday, against Lin Shidong, the world No.2, in the semi-final of a WTT tournament. And this time, the whole room will be pushing for the same Lebrun.
