Whatever happened, they were going to work it out as a family. And at home, what’s more. In a René-Bougnol sports center in Montpellier won over to their cause – as good regional players of the stage – the brothers Alexis and Félix Lebrun engaged, on Sunday March 24, in a breathtaking duel for the crown of French champion of Table tennis. At the end of a finale full of twists and turns, birthright once again prevailed among siblings; and Alexis Lebrun won his third national title in a row (4-2). The second in a row against his world number 5 brother, against whom he remains undefeated in seniors.
Judging by the attitudes at the end of the match, there was nothing fraternal about the final. With one leap, Alexis Lebrun climbed onto their playing field – the table – as if to better mark his territory, letting his joy explode vehemently. For his part, his younger brother let his tears flow: even if his world ranking makes him, at 17 years old, the best table tennis player on the planet behind the irremovable Chinese, and he multiplies the high-flying results (like 'a Grand Smash semi-final in Singapore last week, the equivalent of a Grand Slam tournament in tennis), he still cannot manage to be master of his kingdom. Among the Lebruns, and by capillary action in France, Alexis retains control.
“It was a crazy match,” commented the winner into the announcer’s microphone after the match, congratulating his brother. To play a match like that, it took two. There was an incredible atmosphere, it was crazy. » Lower ranked than his younger brother (22nd in the world), Alexis Lebrun still retains a sort of psychological advantage over Félix, from whom he is inseparable on a daily basis. “They are brothers, but also best friends, roommates…, commented in L’Equipe this week Jérémy Surault, their long-time coach and physical trainer. They spend their free time talking. And they often stay until the end of the tournaments, when the others go back and rest individually. This is what makes them different, and also keeps them moving forward. » Working with the same staff, the two brothers found themselves left to their own devices in the final – so that neither had an advantage.
Two “spear brothers” of French table tennis
After two first one-sided sets (in a best-of-seven-set final), where Alexis Lebrun dominated his younger brother without trembling, as if inhibited, Félix Lebrun began to free himself. The challenger, entering the final to the sound of John Williams' “Imperial March” – a title from the Star Wars soundtrack, and associated with Darth Vader – tried everything to challenge the family hierarchy. In a meeting that increased in intensity, and saw the two competitors compete in audacity, in an attempt to deceive an opponent who knew them by heart, Félix Lebrun equalized at two sets; before giving up the fifth set. With his back to the wall, in the sixth round, he came close to propelling the final into a breathtaking seventh set, but his three set points were saved. For his part, after failing to realize two match points, Alexis Lebrun exulted on the third (11-3, 11-6, 8-11, 9-11, 11-5, 16-14).
“I hope that the final will be as nice, and that I will also win in the end,” Alexis Lebrun jokingly anticipated on La Chaîne L’Equipe, after his difficultly won semi-final against Can Akkazu. Without minimizing the scale of the task that awaited him. “He’s the world number 5, a very big player who showed exceptional mental strength [in the semi-final] against Simon [Gauzy], he proved that he was capable of turning situations around. Just because I beat him when he was younger and weaker doesn't mean it will be as easy today. » After the final, the now three-time French champion (at 20 years old), went to comfort his little brother for a long time, in tears and disappointed. Like a carbon copy of the ladies' final, an hour earlier, which saw Camille Lutz, 21, become French champion by dominating her sister Charlotte Lutz.
A few weeks after the world silver medal won at the World Championships in Pusan (South Korea) against the unshakeable Chinese armada (0-3 defeat), the two “spear brothers” of French table tennis continue their brilliant journey . Even if a winner was needed on Sunday – unlike the day before, when the duo won the title of French doubles champion – Alexis and Félix Lebrun will continue to raise the bar for French table tennis. Four months before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games – where China will not be able to send all its weapons due to limitations on the number of athletes per country – the ambitious siblings would have nothing against meeting again on the Olympic stage.
