JAPAN MASTERS 2024 – After a great fight, Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue ended up giving in in the final against the Thai pair, missing the opportunity to win the biggest title of their career.
The opportunity was great for Thom Gicquel et Delphine Delrue. After a great week, they had made their way to the final of the Japan Masters, a Super 500 tournament, a level higher than their biggest title (a Super 300 in 2021). Facing them, a Thai duo, Dechapol Puavaranukroh et Supissara Paewsampran. The first was a former world champion and world No. 1, which promised difficult opposition for the Blues.
Regrets
But there will still be big regrets for the tricolor pair. Caught by the throat from the start, the Blues reacted in the first set, coming back to a point before letting go. Nevertheless, they showed off their understanding and their complementarity in a second set that was remarkable in every way. Efficiency, winning shots, spectacle, they quickly widened an irremediable gap and went for a third round, with great hope of a title at that time.
On their momentum, they quickly led 4-0 before taking the full force of the Thai awakening. It was then a real standoff that was playing out, and the turning point came at 14-14when the Blues conceded three points in a row. Too many small mistakes, despite constant combativeness, and Thom Gicquel et Delphine Delrue ended up breaking 21-16, 10-21, 21-17. So close, so far from their greatest career title, the Blues raised their heads after a complicated second part of the season, but which was still consecutive to their unforgettable European title.
