The eldest is out the door. Alexis Lebrun was eliminated at the start of the WTT Champions Frankfurt, the second-tier tournament on the world tour, defeated by Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju three sets to two after overcoming a two-set deficit.

Facing the German titleholder and world No.12, Alexis Lebrun managed to turn around a very difficult situation in which Lin Yun-ju, virtually untouchable, took the first two sets. The eldest of the Lebrun brothers, trailing 3-1 in the third, then fought hard to win the set before going on to level.

But while the European champion (ranked 14th in the world), who was crowned world champion in Linz in October, then had a match point in a hotly contested final set with some classy points, he finally succumbed to his 23-year-old opponent: 5-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 10-12.

Félix Lebrun (5th) is the last French men’s representative in Germany, in a tournament at the same level as Montpellier, where he won last week. On Sunday, he beat Simon Gauzy 3-1 in the first round.

For her part, Prithika Pavade, ranked 20th in the world, qualified for the second round on Monday after a clear victory over Korea’s Jeon Jihee 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-1).