Lebrun Brothers Shine at European Table Tennis Championships
Félix and Alexis Lebrun have made significant strides in the European Table Tennis Championships held in Linz, Austria, as they advanced to the quarter-finals in both singles and doubles competitions. On Friday, the brothers faced a challenging match against the experienced duo of Spaniard Alvaro Robles and Romanian Ovidiu Ionescu, who, despite being ranked 349th in the world, were vice-world champions in 2019.
The Lebrun brothers, aged 18 and 21, showcased their resilience during the doubles match, winning with a score of 3-1. After winning the first two sets, they encountered a setback in the third, ultimately dropping it 8-11. The fourth set proved to be a nail-biter as they found themselves trailing 10-7 but managed to rally back and clinch the set 14-12, finishing the match with scores of 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, and 14-12. "We were being pushed around; from the 3rd set onwards, they raised their level of play, so we were happy to finish it," Alexis commented post-match, expressing relief at their victory.
In singles competition, Félix Lebrun had a more straightforward match, defeating the Swede Mattias Falck, ranked 54th, in four sets with scores of 11-9, 11-4, 11-6, and 11-8. Alexis also progressed to the last 16 after a hard-fought encounter against Finn Benedek Olah, ranked 95th, winning in six sets with scores of 11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 12-14, 11-2, and 11-5.
