Alexis Lebrun retains his title of French champion against his little brother Félix

The two headliners of French table tennis fought a spectacular fratricidal fight in Montpellier on Sunday in the final of the French championships.

There must have been an unfortunate person. Winners in doubles the day before, Alexis and Félix Lebrun faced each other in the final of the French table tennis championships, Sunday March 24 in Montpellier. Double title holder, the eldest (20th in the world) retained his crown against his little brother, new world number five. All at the end of a hotly contested family standoff, in six sets (4-2).

Standing on the table at the end of the match while his younger brother burst into tears, Alexis Lebrun (20 years old) let his joy explode, he who was the outsider of the match despite his status as double title holder. And despite, also, his invincibility against his younger brother, whom he had met three times in his career until then, for three victories. Except that the family hierarchy is no longer the sporting hierarchy, since Félix Lebrun (17 years old) recently became the fifth player in the world, behind the untouchable Chinese.

A spectacular showdown

In Montpellier, their city, the two brothers then fell into each other’s arms. At home, they knew they were being observed a few months before the Olympic Games. A year after a first final between the two players, already won by the elder, this revenge was expected. Too much, perhaps, for Félix Lebrun, who missed his first two sets, easily won by Alexis Lebrun (11-3, 11-6). We had to wait until the third to see the world number five lead the score and finally win a set (11-8).

Perked up, Félix Lebrun then played more liberated. Result: an exceptional fourth set, with a breathtaking back-and-forth between the two brothers, but which ultimately swung in favor of the younger to equalize at two sets (11-9). We then thought the cadet was heading towards a first national coronation, but it was Alexis Lebrun who got his hands on the fifth set of the match (11-5), before saving five set points in the sixth to finally win. win 16-14 and retain his French champion crown for one more year, at least.