Félix Lebrun beat Chinese Chen Yuanyu on Wednesday, qualifying for the third round of the Beijing Grand Smash. Two days after the hasty elimination of his older brother Alexis in singles, the 19-year-old from Montpellier came very close to disillusionment, led two sets to one by the young Chinese (20 years old), 22nd in the world.
But Félix Lebrun (N.7) managed to get the beauty, even before putting away a match point from his opponent in a very competitive final set. He then did not let his chance slip by winning the game, again on his first match point: 11-3, 4-11, 5-11, 11-8, 12-10.
In the next round, he will meet the Romanian Eduard Ionescu, who eliminated Alexis Lebrun in the first round in China, where one of the most important tournaments of the season on the international circuit is being held.
The Lebrun brothers also successfully entered the men's doubles and qualified for the quarter-finals after a victory over the Slovaks Jakub Zelinka and Lubomir Pistej. Among the women, Prithika Pavade, the last French representative, was eliminated in the women's doubles as well as in the individual, by the Japanese Satsuki Odo (3-0) in the second round.
