Tomokazu Harimoto (Photo WTT)
Second seeded Tomokazu Harimoto survived in his opening battle at WTT Champions Montpellier while several seeds, including the defending champion Felix Lebrun, fell by the wayside at the Sud de France ARENA.
The Japanese ace clinched a narrow 11-3, 6-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8 win in overcoming compatriot Yukiya Uda in five nail-biting games.
The second seeded Harimoto having dominated in their previous encounter last year, he was the clear favourite heading into this repeat battle.
Harimoto got off to a flying start, simply outplaying his rival with an 11-3 scoreline, as he showcased his talents to the French crowd.
But Uda proved much stronger in the second and third games, utilising high-impact topspin shots to his advantage, the former WTT Champions quarterfinalist now leading Harimoto by a 1-2 game margin.
With the win now slipping through the second seed’s fingers, Harimoto needed to find a quick answer if he was to keep his campaign on track.
The fourth game began with Uda to serve, but it was Harimoto who would profit, as the match favourite skipped ahead to a 6-1 point advantage. Uda would recover somewhat, but catching the edge of the table at 10-6, Harimoto brought play to a deciding game in Montpellier.
It was Uda who who would kick things off, pulling ahead to 1-3 in points. But Harimoto hit back, and despite a Time-Out call from Uda, the World No.4 continued to advance, now on the verge of victory at 10-6.
Uda would manage to save two match points, but a push return error saw him fall with an 11-8 tagline, leaving Harimoto to progress to the Round of 16.
Simon Gauzy produced an almighty display to see off local hero Felix Lebrun in a 4-11, 11-8, 12-10, 6-11, 11-5 nail-biter.
One day on from witnessing a shock exit for defending women’s singles champion, Montpellier could never imagine seeing its men’s singles champion to follow suit last night.
On his path to the title last year, Felix Lebrun dispatched Simon Gauzy in straight games and had bested his French compatriot twice since then. A quick sprint out of the blocks seemingly put Lebrun on course for another victory, getting the Montpellier crowd on its feet after a game one masterclass for the city’s champion.
But the mood would change dramatically soon after as Gauzy hit back, dominating the second game from start to finish as the nail-biting commenced in the stands.
Brushing that setback aside, Lebrun appeared to get back on track in game three, moving 6-9 clear to relieve any fear circulating around the arena, or so he thought. Instead, what would follow was an outstanding response from his rival as Gauzy not only recovered three points on the bounce, but also saved Game Point at 9-10 to steal the third 12-10.
While there were understandably some split allegiances in the stands, these were two of France’s finest players competing on the electrifying Infinity ∞ Arena.
The Lebrun fans cheered at the top of their lungs, hoping to lift their champion, while Gauzy’s jaw-dropping shot retrieval and relentless determination won him huge applause and respect from the Montpellier faithful.
A timely response from Lebrun in game four prompted a huge rallying cry felt all across Sud de France ARENA, generating an atmosphere like no other as the excitement for a fifth and final game hit fever pitch. Leaving it all out on the table, both players fought desperately for the win, but in the end, it was Gauzy who pulled it out of the bag, putting his head in his hands in joyous disbelief.
“Honestly, it’s very painful for me to see him (Felix) out. He was at home, he won here last year and I’m sure he could have gone all the way again. But after losing all those times against him it was maybe time for me to win, I had never lost that many times in a row against a player. So, it’s mixed feelings, of course I’m super proud, I took so much pleasure tonight but to knock two French players out here it’s a bit painful,” said Gauzy.
On an evening packed with twists and turns, Felix Lebrun wasn’t the only high-profile departure.
Former WTT Champions event winner Lin Yun-Ju was halted in his tracks by Jang Woojin, who won 2-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6, opening up the men’s singles title race even further.
Truls Moregard delivered a clinical performance to oust compatriot Anton Kallberg from title contention, the Europe Smash – Sweden 2025 champion winning in three straight games 11-9, 11-4, 11-9.
Moregard will face German icon Dimitrij Ovtcharov in his next test, the latter having overcome Hwan Bae 12-10, 11-7, 11-5.
Meanwhile in the women’s singles, Sabine Winter picked up another emphatic win over Bernadette Szocs, defeating the Romanian 4-11, 11-8, 12-10, 6-11, 11-5 in a little over 16 minutes.
The upsets keep on coming, as Puerto Rican star Adriana Diaz took down fourth seed Zhu Yuling 11-5, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8.
Following her stellar run at WTT Champions Macao, where Diaz became the first player from the Americas to reach a women’s singles quarterfinal at a WTT Champions level, Diaz’s impressive form continued as she upset her former world No.1 rival to book her spot in the second round.
Clashing for the first time at a WTT Series event, Diaz made the first move, winning the opening game with an 11-5 scoreline. The early assault prompted swift retaliation from Yuling, levelling play at one game each.
The third game began like a cat and mouse chase, with Yuling falling behind at 5-2, only to recover to 6-5, resulting in a Time-Out call from the Puerto Rican. The break ended, and play would eventually favour Diaz again, as she showcased brisk strokes and clever tactical play to lead Yuling by a 2-1 game advantage.
Momentum appeared to be shifting as Yuling pulled back a 6-3 point deficit to 6-6 in the fourth game. But things changed once again, as Diaz progressed the score to 10-8. With a breath-taking backhand counter-topspin, the World No.18 claimed the game and match, throwing her racket to the floor in jubilant celebration!
“Recently Zhu Yuling has been playing unbelievable, she just won in Las Vegas (United States Smash 2025), so, I knew it was going to be hard. Sometimes you get better draws, sometimes you get not that good draws, but I just entered the match trying to do whatever I could to take the win,” said Diaz.
Meanwhile, fifth seed Miwa Harimoto also found her way through to the Round of 16, posting a 11-5, 13-11, 14-12 straight-game victory over home favourite Jia Nan Yuan.
