The draw for the WTT Champions in Montpellier did not varnish the French. Félix and Alexis Lebrun are, unwittingly, responsible. They were the ones who were responsible for drawing the competition tables. Result: two Franco-French clashes, from the first round, one for the men and one for the women.
“I hope not to play a Frenchman, if I come across Félix and I find out in the car, I will turn around,” laughed Simon Gauzy, after the title of European team champion in Zadar, Croatia. Ten days later, the draw was made and Simon laughed. So, he does not play Félix Lebrun in the first round, like last year at the WTT Champions in Montpellier, but he will play a Frenchman in the round of 16, Lilian Bardet. “Certainly Lilian is not Félix, but I would have preferred to play Tomokazu Harimoto (4th in the world). Quite simply, I would have liked to take advantage of this French audience a little. This will not be the case, perhaps if I go to the quarter-final”, sighs Gauzy, on the eve of his entry into the running. “Now, I take it a little differently from last year, because at the time it was just after the Games. Even if it’s annoying, it’s like that.”
But his disappointment does not end there, because the winner of this match will meet in the next round… Félix Lebrun, title holder of the WTT Champions of Montpellier. “It's very frustrating. Obviously, it will be difficult. But hey, already, I want to produce a good level, for the public to be happy. And then, if the victories come from my side, I would have deserved it”, reassures the 17th player in the world. On Lilian Bardet's side, the frustration is more measured. He will experience his first Champions, got an invitation after Thibault Poret's injury withdrawal. “We're going to try to entertain the public but it's obviously a little weird. It's a part of the picture that's perhaps a little frustrating for us and perhaps also for the public but we're still going to try to make the most of it,” hopes Bardet, 46th in the world.
And then, obviously, playing a teammate, a training partner, it's never fun. Especially when it's a home competition. “In the preparation for the match, it doesn't change anything. So yes, we know each other very well but that doesn't change anything. It's more about the public's apprehension. I knew that if I played a foreigner, I would have had the public behind me. There, even if there are good points that go in my favor, it will be shared whatever happens. So, that's what's a bit of a shame”, annoys Gauzy.
“I told Alexis to go have another operation on her hand”
On the women's side, two French women also meet in the first round, Prithika Pavade and Charlotte Lutz. And the winner could find… another Habs, Jia Nan Yuan, if the latter wins in her first match. In total, seven confrontations between players from the same country will take place in the round of 16 of the WTT Champions in Montpellier. A record of clashes between the same nations.
Sunday, during the draw, two players could bite their fingers: Félix and Alexis Lebrun. They were the ones who made the draw. “It was Alexis who did all the shit. He shot badly, each time it was he who shot the same two countries. We weren't good, it's been two years in a row that it's been happening with a lot of French-French people. Among the girls it's the same, so it's not great”, sighs, with a hint of a smile, Félix, 5th in the world. Obviously, those mainly concerned did not fail to have a little word for the two brothers. “I told Alexis that he had to have another operation on his hand because there is a little problem,” laughs Lilian Bardet. “Next time, it’s not them who do the draw, it’s me,” adds Gauzy.
