The ANMTT saw their season come to an end in the semi-finals of the French team championship after being beaten by Hennebont 3-1 in both legs.
For the French table tennis stars, the matches continue and so do the disappointments. From London to Hennebont, Sarrebruck, and the packed Parnasse hall in Nîmes, the Lebrun brothers travel across Europe, representing both France and the Alliance Nîmes-Montpellier team.
On Tuesday night, just like the previous weekend in Germany, they wore their club’s jersey with the immense responsibility of defending their title against Hennebont in the final. The night started off roughly as the GVHTT team arrived in Gard with a 3-1 lead from the first leg. The ANMTT coach, Vincent Avril, made a bold choice by starting Felix instead of Alexis, who was reportedly sidelined due to a muscle injury.
Felix Lebrun dominates his opponent
The youngest Lebrun began the night in full force. Facing the Russian Lev Kastman, who seemed puzzled by the situation, Felix only allowed him to score two points in two sets. Despite Kastman managing to score a couple of points in the third set, it was Felix Lebrun who prevailed, leading his team to a turnaround.
In the next match, a Franco-Russian duel, Vladimir Sidorenko comfortably won the first set against Esteban Dorr. Though Dorr fought back in the second set, Sidorenko ultimately secured victory in three sets, adding a crucial point to his team. After the break, Simon Gauzy, Hennebont’s key recruit, faced Antoine Hachard and easily defeated him, securing his team’s spot in the final.
Alliance Nîmes-Montpellier suffers consecutive losses
With Gauzy’s victory, Hennebont secured a spot in the championship final for the third consecutive time. Despite being runners-up in the Champions League final and reaching the Pro A semifinals, Alliance failed to win any titles and ended the season on a disappointing note.
