France easily won against Slovakia this Thursday in the round of 16 of the European team table tennis championships. The players and their coach Nathanaël Molin are ready for the next round.
Without shaking. The French table tennis players logically qualified for the quarter-finals of the European team table tennis championships, by eliminating Slovakia (3-0) this Thursday in Zadar, Croatia. Alexis Lebrun, Félix Lebrun then Simon Gauzy, starters since the start of the competition, perfectly negotiated their respective matches to reach the quarters, where they will face Turkey or Belgium on Friday.
The Blues are in Germany's part of the table, another favorite for final victory, which they could find in the last four if they succeed in the next round. A slightly tight first set against Yang Wang for Alexis Lebrun, a second set escaped by Félix Lebrun in front of Alexander Valuch, but overall constant control: the French, who occupy second place in the European ranking of nations, did not delay in upholding their status.
“The difficulty will increase”
After the inaugural success of Alexis Lebrun (3-0: 12-10, 11-3, 11-8) – who has not yet lost any set in Zadar – and that of his 19-year-old little brother (3-1: 11-2, 10-12, 11-3, 11-4), Simon Gauzy concluded the day with a flawless performance in front of Jakub Zelinka (3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-9). “We are moving forward in this competition, we will have to be present when there are tough moments, for the moment we are not giving up. We remain serious in what we do, we gain confidence to arrive at the moment when we have to be ready,” reacted Nathanaël Molin, coach of the Blues.
“The matches will become harder and harder,” said Félix Lebrun. “We're in the quarter-finals, that's where we're going to have to be the best. We're training for this type of match, we can't wait to be there. We're going to prepare as best we can, already for tomorrow.” Same analysis from Alexis Lebrun: “We really feel that there are two different competitions: the group stage where we have to do the job and get our bearings, and now it's the real competition that begins. We have to gain momentum. The difficulty will increase.”
