Alexis LEBRUN clinched the gold medal in the Men’s Singles event at the LIEBHERR European Championships in Linz. In the final he defeated Benedict DUDA of Germany in straight games. This victory marked LEBRUN’s second title in Linz following his doubles success with his brother Felix. The bronze medalists were Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany and Truls MOREGARD of Sweden.
After his win against DUDA Alexis expressed his joy:
“I played the best table tennis of my life throughout the whole tournament. I studied DUDA’s matches very thoroughly and prepared for this. It’s unbelievable what I feel now ” said LEBRUN.
Dimitrij OVTCHAROV a two-time European champion (2013 in Schwechat and 2015 in Ekaterinburg) silver medalist in singles in 2020 (Warsaw) and bronze medalist from 2007 (Belgrade) could not halt DUDA’s progress to the semifinals. After a breathtaking victory over Felix LEBRUN Benedict DUDA defied the odds and defeated OVTCHAROV in six games.
“Yesterday’s match against Felix gave me so much confidence and I already felt good during the warm-up. My movements were smooth and my legs were fast even though I was a bit tired. I’ve never played so well against Dima not even in training. This is also my first official win against him. Dima fights for every ball and it’s hard to break him down. I had to reset after every game from 3-0 as if it was starting all over again. Now I’m in the final and I want to take it a step further. But the next challenge is tough—I’ve recently lost to both Truls and Alexis. I didn’t expect to reach the final especially after being injured for a long time and my international performances and games in the TTBL weren’t great. But I trained really well before the European Championships and just fought my way through round by round ” said DUDA.
OVTCHAROV remarked: “Benne played phenomenally—I didn’t think I was playing badly but he was really strong and dominant in the rallies. I couldn’t break through and I became a bit frustrated. I tried to push even harder and started to get more into the game even leading 8-7 in the sixth set. If I had won just one more point there… But he’s the well-deserved winner today. I touched the table with my racket and there was a small dent. I felt like I was hitting that spot on my tomahawk serve. In tennis changing rackets is common practice so I don’t understand why it’s not allowed in table tennis. It’s a strange rule. The disappointment is big because I played very well last night. But that’s sports. I’ve had the privilege of winning this title twice. Still the medal is a nice achievement.”
Alexis LEBRUN was in top form in the semifinals rushing into the final stage with a decisive victory over Truls MOREGARD of Sweden.
“I am feeling so fresh and full of adrenaline. Despite all the important matches today being in two finals is amazing. I had an unbelievable tournament. I had a dream summer. I played a medal match at the Olympics and now I’m in the European Championships final—it’s fantastic. It’s incomparable. I just play my game and enjoy the finals ” said Alexis.
LEBRUN and MOREGARD had met eight times before with the Swede holding the upper hand but today Alexis controlled the match from start to finish.
“I entered the match hoping to win 4-0. Of course it’s not always expected especially since our last match was very close. Every time it’s difficult to play against him. Maybe I surprised him because last time my game was not on this level. I tried to be aggressive and very strong in my service receive game—especially the receive because that is most important ” said Alexis LEBRUN.
Final
Benedikt DUDA (Germany) – Alexis LEBRUN (France) 0-4 (5-11 8-11 6-11 2-11)
Semi final
Benedikt DUDA (Germany) – Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (Germany) 4-2 (11-8 11-8 11-5 8-11 6-11 11-8)
Alexis LEBRUN (France) – Truls MOREGARD (Sweden) 4-0 (12-10 11-5 11-5 11-6)
