Alexis Lebrun was dominated by the Swede Truls Moregard this Sunday in the semi-final of the WTT Champions in Montpellier (4-1). After his defeat, the 22-year-old Frenchman received support from his coach Nathanaël Molin, who does not appreciate his mental strength being called into question.
The fervor of the South of France Arena was not enough. Despite the unwavering support of his audience, Alexis Lebrun lost to Truls Moregard this Sunday in the semi-final of the WTT Champions in Montpellier (4-1). Dominated in all areas, the 22-year-old Frenchman suffered the law of world No. 5.
After the meeting, the eldest of the Lebrun brothers received support from his coach Nathanaël Molin, who got annoyed in the mixed zone when a question was asked about the mental strength of his protégé. “I have a lot of trouble when people talk to me about that,” replied the 39-year-old coach. “When a guy is a three-time European champion, top 10 in the world, there he is 12th… I don't know what that means. He has his particularities, but what player doesn't have them? (…) We're talking about exceptional players, so I'm a little fed up with this debate. He doesn't talk to me about this debate. Today, he's in a semi-final. So yes, he's more demonstrative, but he knows how to win. He's proven it a thousand times.”
“I will no longer answer these questions”
“What does this thing mean about being mentally stronger or less strong? I’m having trouble,” continued Nathanaël Molin. “I get asked this question all the time and I'm tired of actually dealing with it. Look at the track record! He says it every time, when you're mentally weak, do you think we do that? You think you have this type of track record. I don't think so, so we have to stop getting into this debate. It's a debate that is closed and I will no longer answer these questions.”
Alexis Lebrun, for his part, recognized the superiority of his Scandinavian opponent during this meeting: “I think he was super strong. He played so well, he broke the rhythm with his backhand, he varied the trajectories well and it was very hard for me to find my ground line”, admitted Alexis Lebrun at the microphone of RMC Sport. “Even though in this tournament I have a very high level in the exchange, he is very powerful, he varies his trajectories well. I didn't miss my match but he dominated me from start to finish. There aren't that many regrets in the end. When you see the five sets, he was on top. It hurts but that's how it is.”
