Alexis Lebrun started off the Lebrun brothers' first evening at the ecstatic Sud de France Arena with a victory and a great battle. The eldest of the siblings, European champion in singles and doubles with Felix a few days ago, beat 36-year-old Portuguese Marcos Freitas on Wednesday after four closely contested sets (10-12, 11-9, 11-13, 9-). 11), during the first round of the WTT Champions tournament in Montpellier, the prestigious competition's debut in France.
After trailing 7-4 in the first set, Alexis Lebrun, who had recently risen to No. 16 in the world, quickly responded with a win, before losing the next set to an opponent who had beaten him in all three of his meetings on the international circuit. The match witnessed some refereeing violations, as the Portuguese took his time between the points, while the Frenchman was accustomed to playing quickly.
“I don't blame him, he has a very slow rhythm, and I have a very fast rhythm, so when we play against each other it creates problems. Alexis Lebron commented. It's not the first time, but referees have to respect people who come to see Peng, not come to see someone wiping his hand and taking his towel. They are supposed to help speed things up, but they don't, I have a hard time understanding. But Marcus played his game, and that's normal. »
Facing difficulty in the third round, trailing 9-7, LeBron the Elder came back to score (9-9) to benefit in the end. After 40 minutes of play, he recorded his first success during the Montpellier contest on his second match point.
“I'm glad I got out of it, The elder LeBron continued. The sequence is difficult (with the European Championship and its two titles on Sunday), I was not at my best, but the fact of entering the room gave me a lot of energy, with the atmosphere and the adrenaline. »
The 21-year-old Frenchman will meet either Slovenian Darko Jorgic or Swede Truls Møregaard, seeded No. 7 in the tournament, in the round of 16. His brother Felix will enter the battle on Wednesday at 7:40 pm against his compatriot Simon Gosi, after the meeting between Frenchwoman Prithika Pavade and South Korean Hyo Hyo-won.
