Table tennis, Saudi Smash: a former world No. 1 for Alexis Lebrun in the 32nd final, terrible draw for Simon Gauzy

Alexis Lebrun face à un ancien numéro un mondial au Saudi Smash. Midi Libre – SYLVIE CAMBON

Le tableau final du Saudi Smash, tournoi essentiel avant les Jeux Olympiques, a été dévoilé ce jeudi 2 mai.

A standoff at a distance. Alexis Lebrun and Simon Gauzy, teammates in the French team, are competing for second qualifying place to compete in the Olympic Games in singles this summer. Hurry up. Opportunities to score points will become increasingly rare.

Long ahead, the Montpellier native (32nd in the world) saw the Toulouse native (23rd in the world) recently overtake him in the world rankings. If the latter were frozen, Simon Gauzy would accompany Félix Lebrun (6th in the world) in the singles tournament of the Olympics.

Also read:Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Alexis Lebrun or Simon Gauzy at the Olympic Games: we explain the table tennis selection procedures

But the Saudi Smash, played from May 1 to 11, is an opportunity to score points (the winner in 2000 will gain). The Saudi competition is one of the three biggest tournaments of the year, a pivotal moment in the race for the Games.

World number one for Gauzy

Gauzy inherited a terrible draw to begin the event. In the first round (32nd final), he will face the world number one, the Chinese Wang Shuqin. Which could suit Alexis Lebrun’s business. But the 20-year-old table tennis player will also have a lot to do since the German Dimitrij Ovtcharov (seeded number 11), former world number 1, will stand in front of him.

🚨#SAUDISMASH DRAW🚨

Which of these matches are you most excited for? 🥳

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— World Table Tennis (@WTTGlobal) May 2, 2024

In a crazy scenario, Simon Gauzy and Alexis Lebrun could face each other in the quarter-finals.

Félix Lebrun (seeded number 5), for his part, inherited the Kazakh Kirill Gerassimenko (27 years old). In the quarter-finals, the youngest brother could meet the Chinese legend, Ma Long (seeded number 3).

The 32nd finals start on May 4.