Alexis Lebrun needed an exploit to join his brother, Félix, in the round of 16. Opposed to the Taiwanese Lin Yun-ju (12th in the world and seeded n°8), the elder Lebrun had never won against this player. Except on one occasion on a package.
This old acquaintance of the Lebrun family still remembered his defeat in the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games against his little brother.
After two dispatched sets (11-5, 11-5), the Taiwanese experienced a few sweats when Alexis Lebrun forced himself to snatch the third set (11-9). This then freed the Montpellier who continued with the 4th round (11-9). Coming back from nowhere, Alexis was no longer very far from the feat.
Jia Nan Yuan also beaten
Everything came down to the fifth and final set. A round marked by legendary points won by Alexis Lebrun. After having a match point at 10-9 in his favor, the eldest of the Lebrun brothers finally lost on a failed return (10-12).
With this defeat, qualification for the WTT Finals, which brings together the 16 best players of the season, becomes complicated for Alexis. The day before, Félix had beaten Simon Gauzy in a 100% French duel (3-1). He is the only one of the siblings to continue his journey to Germany.
For other French people, the day was also gloomy. Jia Nan Yuan, the French number 1, fell upon her entry against the Japanese Satsuki Odo, seeded 8 (11-4, 14-12, 9-11, 7-11, 11-3).
