It was a fratricidal duel that kept all its promises. Brothers in the city but adversaries on Saturday around a ping-pong table, Félix and Alexis Lebrun fought a huge battle in the quarter-finals of the WTT Champions in Montpellier, from which the 18-year-old youngest emerged victorious.
This match, anticipated for several hours around the Arena Sud de France, in Hérault, mixed spectacle on the playing area and in the stands. And in this Lebrun-Lebrun meeting, it was Félix who won this time, 11-6, 7-11, 16-14, 11-9.
An elder less well ranked than his younger brother
Until now, the duels in official competitions between the two brothers 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 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 semi-finals, to still enjoy the atmosphere, I’m enjoying the moment”, savored Félix Lebrun in reference to the 6,000 spectators who in turn pushed “Féfé” and “Alex” as we exchange the balls. He will challenge the Chinese Lin Shidong, seeded N.1, this Sunday at 1:15 p.m. “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, illuminated room purple neon lights.
A duel with an “extraordinary point”
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 plays a bit of a joke, he jumps in all directions,” laughed Félix Lebrun, who finally pocketed it with a smile, before winning the sleeve.
Alexis, for his part, admitted that his brother “played at a high level, and he 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.
While the little one had encouraged the big one in the stands in Austria, for the European coronation, it is now the opposite which will happen again on Sunday against Lin Shidong, in the semi-final. And this time, the whole room will be pushing for the same Lebrun.