Felix LEBRUN of France clinched the gold medal at the 2023 European Games in a nail-biting final of the Men’s Singles Event. In the seven-game match he defeated Marcos FREITAS of Portugal. The bronze medalist is Alexis LEBRUN of France. Due to a back hamstring injury Andrej GACINA of Croatia was forced to withdraw after his defeat against Felix LEBRUN.
The duel swung from one side to another and concluded in a thrilling narrow-margin finish.
“It is absolutely crazy. I played match after match and reaching the semifinal made me believe that I could actually do it. I feel pure happiness and on top of that Alexis is a bronze medalist. We are both on the podium and this is an amazing achievement ” said Felix LEBRUN.
He continued “The whole match was up and down with the score. I was close to losing the first game being down 6-0 but I stayed calm in the next games because I knew I had time with the best of seven format. In the fourth game Marcos changed something tactically making it harder for me but I never gave up and always tried to find a solution. From 9-9 in the last game the points were crazy and I really want to thank the French team because they gave me the energy and courage to continue fighting. The success of my brother recently helped me because we practice often together and knowing that he beat the number one in the world made me believe that everything is possible. I know it’s rare to win this big event at my age but I practiced a lot for it so I’m happy that it’s paying off today and I hope it will continue in the future.”
It was hard for Marcos to talk after the match. “I knew he is a very good player who is playing very well at the moment. I was leading in the beginning. I was better very aggressive and I had more power to keep the match under control. But he recovered. At 3-2 he played very well throughout the sixth game. I lost my focus. In the seventh game I started badly but came back to 9-7 and then I made a few bad decisions… I feel so frustrated now. I wanted that title so much ” said FREITAS.
However Marcos already started thinking about the next event in Krakow. “I have had so many matches here met very tough adversaries. Now I have to continue with good games. We continue with the Team’s event. We want the medal there too ” said FREITAS.
There were two brothers on the medal podium as Alexei reached the third position. “I’m so proud of us. I think we still don’t fully believe it right now. These medals are an accomplishment but I certainly hope that it’s the beginning of many years to come. Félix will joke with me because he got a better place than me but I’ll accept it with pleasure. I’m simply very happy with my medal and very proud of him ” stated Alexei.
Coach Nathanael MOLIN stated “We could not expect that because many champions competed here and we didn’t have optimal preparation. They don’t have a lot of experience on this big stage. They have performed a lot in best-of-five matches but never in best-of-seven. Everything is still new for them. It’s very special because we share so much time together not less than 300 days a year. I actually see them more often than my wife. I’m so proud of them.”
Match for the gold medal
Marcos FREITAS of Portugal (18) – Felix LEBRUN of France (8) 3-4 (11-9 5-11 5-11 11-4 11-6 2-11 11-13)
