The Montpellier native was dominated by Tomakazu Harimoto (JAP, world No.4) in six rounds.
If we except the Chinese ball artists, this is the best in the small world of table tennis. Tomakazu Harimoto (JAP, world No.4), 22, and Félix Lebrun (N.6), 19, met on Saturday afternoon in Doha for the quarter-finals of the first WTT Champions of the season, the equivalent of a Masters 1000 in tennis. And unsurprisingly, the shock kept all its promises.
A pivotal fifth round
If the victory finally went to Harimoto (11-5, 4-11, 5-11, 11-4, 9-11, 9-11), the opposite could very well have happened as the two players seem close. But at the start of the year, the Japanese are perhaps dominating their subject a little more. The Montpellier player may particularly regret the end of the fifth round abandoned to his opponent against the course of the game and his domination.
Félix Lebrun, the last French survivor this weekend in Qatar, should however capitalize on this frustrating start to continue in the coming weeks. He is notably expected next week in Nîmes (January 15), to play with his club in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
