After coming back two sets behind, the eldest of the Lebrun siblings finally gave in against the Taiwanese title holder Lin Yun-ju.
The eldest takes the door. Alexis Lebrun was eliminated from the start of the WTT Champions in Frankfurt, the second level tournament on the world circuit, beaten by the Taiwanese Lin Yun-ju three sets to two after coming back from a two-set deficit.
Facing the defending champion in Germany and world No.12, Alexis Lebrun temporarily reversed a very poorly started situation where Lin Yun-ju, almost untouchable, pocketed the first two sets. The eldest of the Lebrun brothers, trailing 3-1 in the third, then struggled to win the set before going for the equalizer.
But while the European champion (14th in the world), crowned in Linz in October, then had a match point in a very competitive final set with some high-class points, he finally cracked in front of his 23-year-old opponent: 5-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 10-12.
Félix Lebrun (5th) is the last French male representative in Germany, in this tournament of the same level as that of Montpellier, where he won last week. On Sunday, he beat Simon Gauzy in the first round, 3-1.
For her part, Prithika Pavade, 20th in the world, qualified on Monday for the second round after her very clear victory over the Korean Jeon Jihee 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-1).
