We had to quickly move on to something else. After his final at the China Smash in Beijing last week, Félix Lebrun became the first Frenchman to reach the final of a Grand Slam. Having barely celebrated this result, the 5th player in the world already has the lead in the European table tennis team championships which begin on Sunday. A few hours before flying to Zadar, Croatia, where the competition will take place, he looked back on his week in Beijing and the next objectives.
Félix Lebrun, after this China Smash final lost to Wang Chuqin (world number 1), was it necessary to digest this defeat or rather take advantage of this historic result?
When we lose to a stronger player during the match, we don't have too many regrets. So, I took advantage of the result. Very happy that it also happened after a month of training and just before the European Championships. So, I think it's the perfect timing to regain maximum confidence and to arrive at the European Championships as ready as possible.
When you say, regain confidence, does that mean there was less of it recently?
Lost confidence, no. Afterwards, there were defeats which hurt me a little more than others where I felt very good, whether in training or during the match, and which I ended up losing. But above all, having a series of victories, even when you are confident, simply continues to build confidence. And that allows us to get into the matches a little better and to have, at important moments, the small decision that will swing to our side. I think that sport in general often comes down to a few points, so it can always play a role.
This week at China Smash, you beat three Chinese players in the most important tournament on the WTT circuit. What does that represent?
It's a source of pride to be able to do a tournament like this. I think it's perhaps the toughest tournament in the world, because there are all the Chinese wild cards (invitations), there are all the best players in the world. So making the final in a competition like that makes me want to continue. I tell myself that even when there are the very best, I can achieve great things in the future. Only confidence and pride in my career and having obviously also benefited from playing the best Chinese players at home in Beijing, having also notably beaten Lin Shidong, who is number 2 in the world. It was a treat.
We must now quickly turn to the European Championships, where we imagine that the objectives are high?
Yes, we're going there to get the title. We have a super strong, super homogeneous team, so we are going there to get the title. Afterwards, if we have a medal with hindsight, we can be a little happy. But clearly, at the moment, we will be disappointed.
This French team welcomes two new ones, Flavien Coton and Thibaut Poret…
(He cuts) I'm not the youngest anymore. It's over.
Does it take a toll?
(Laughs) No, because Flavien is really young (17 years old). It's nice, because I've always been the youngest all the time, almost since I was little. So no, it's cool. And we have a nice team. We've all known each other since we were little. It's nice to see ourselves again in the French Senior team with Simon (Gauzy), who is a little older (he will celebrate his 31st birthday on October 25), who will take on the role of captain. We're going to have a great time.
You are back in the top 5 in the world, you have a status to uphold in the French team. Do you feel like you have to win every match?
Honestly, if I lose every time but the team wins, it's not a big deal. I don't really care. I would be very happy if I lost all my matches and we got the title, I would be the happiest in the world. I will do my best to contribute to the team. Our strong point is that we don't need to have a leader. I think we are all capable of beating almost all the players who are in these European Championships. Even if I lose my two matches in one match, I have confidence in the team, that we are capable of getting the other three points. I think it's nice to have that feeling for everyone. I speak for myself, but I think it's the same for others. Whether it's Flavien, Thibaut, Simon or Alexis, if they lose a match, we all know that we are far from having lost. I think it's a good feeling for the whole team.
