The 17-year-old with a messy hairdo from Montpellier polished his black glasses, grasped the racket with a pen grip and immediately showed why he is one of the sport's new, big profiles.
"Fèlix, Fèlix, Fèlix!" the Frenchmen screamed. Loudly, in rhythm and often.
The world's third-ranked player did not disappoint. Quickly and efficiently, he went up to 3–0 (11–4, 11–7, 11–8).
I offered him many quick and easy points. I missed far too much. It stings, says Källberg.
Came to life in the match
But when the Frenchman seemed to be about to shut him out, Källberg found his game, got Lebrun out of rhythm and took the fourth set with convincing 11–4. The start of a mighty comeback? It was at least a good attempt. Källberg saved three match points, and then took the fifth set with 15–13.
I did a very good fourth set and managed to steal the fifth somehow and got back into the match. Then a comeback was still possible, he says.
Several long duels brought massive applause in the arena at the OS complex Paris Sud. Källberg had the chance to force a deciding seventh set, but Lebrun went up to 10–6 and slammed in the match point to 11–8.
Lying flat on the floor, he received the audience's accolades.
The Frenchman – the big home hope – is seeded three in the tournament and has what it takes to go all the way in the fight for medals.
I want to go as far as possible. I set no limits, but I know it will be tough in every round. Getting a medal in Paris is a dream for me, says Lebrun.
"Incredible speed"
Källberg on why Lebrun is so good, so hard to meet:
He has incredible speed, quality in his shots, many different serves. It's hard to do much more than just save them. And he has a fantastic backhand, moves well, reads the game well.
It's hard to believe he's only 17 years old.
His OS is not over. The team competition remains.
Truls Möregårdh's match in the second round was initially scheduled for Monday evening but was moved to Wednesday.
This gives the Swede much more time to think about how he will take on Wang Chuqin. So far, Möregårdh has only managed to take four sets in eight matches against the Chinese world number one. Something he readily acknowledged after the draw.
