WTT Champions Montpellier: wildcard Simon Gauzy stuns new Asian champion Tomokazu Harimoto 3-0

Three days after winning the Asian Championships, Tomokazu Harimoto is out of WTT Champions Montpellier in the first round. Simon Gauzy, a 32-year-old French wildcard, beat the world No. 3 in straight games on Wednesday, 28 October, with a home crowd behind him. French outlet Tennis2Table said it was Gauzy's first win over Harimoto. The Japanese star had won all five of their previous international meetings, according to Infinity Sport.

How Gauzy beat Harimoto

The first game decided the match. Harimoto led 10-8 and had three game points, but Gauzy saved all three and took the game 15-13. Harimoto then had to chase.

In the second game Gauzy went ahead early and won it 11-7. In the third he led 3-1, Harimoto called a timeout, and Gauzy still pulled away to finish the match 3-0.

Gauzy came into the event as a wildcard after winning WTT Contender Almaty earlier this year. After the win he praised his opponent, describing Harimoto as "definitely a better player than me."

Harimoto arrived in France as the new Asian champion after winning the men's singles title in Tashkent on Sunday, 25 October.

A bad night for Alexis Lebrun

The home crowd also saw a painful defeat. Alexis Lebrun led Germany's Patrick Franziska by two games, and Infinity Sport reported that he had two match points in the third game. Franziska saved them and won the match 3-2, taking the deciding game 11-9.

Another Frenchman, Flavien Coton, also lost from two games up. He won the first two games against South Korea's Jang Woojin and led 9-5 in the decider, but Jang took the last points to win 3-2.

The younger Lebrun brother had a much easier start. On Tuesday, Félix Lebrun beat Sweden's Anders Lind 11-8, 11-3, 11-3.

Other first-round results

Men's top seed Sora Matsushima of Japan beat Germany's Dang Qiu 3-2 on Tuesday. Defending champion Truls Moregard of Sweden beat home player Thibault Poret 3-0, and China's Lin Shidong beat South Korea's Lim Jong-hoon 3-0. China's Zhou Qihao came back from two games down to beat South Korea's Oh Junsung. Germany's Patrick Franziska and Japan's Shunsuke Togami also reached the last 16.

In the women's draw, China's Sun Yingsha beat France's Camille Lutz 3-0, and top seed Wang Manyu beat Japan's Hana Goda by the same score. China's Kuai Man got past Wales' Anna Hursey 3-2 after Hursey saved a match point in the decider. Wang Yidi, Chen Xingtong, Hina Hayata, Hitomi Sato, Annett Kaufmann and Sabine Winter also advanced.

The men's field was missing China's Wang Chuqin, who withdrew injured on 23 October. South Korea's An Jaehyun replaced him in the draw.

What's next and Malaysia viewing times

The event runs until Sunday, 1 November, with 32 players in each singles draw. Thursday's programme included Wen Ruibo against Liang Jingkun and Truls Moregard against Shunsuke Togami.

Montpellier is seven hours behind Malaysia. Sessions starting at 12:00 and 18:30 local time begin at 7pm and 1.30am Malaysia time. Sunday's final sessions are listed for 11:00 and 17:30 local time, which is 6pm and 12.30am Malaysia time.

Key takeaways

• Wildcard Simon Gauzy beat world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 3-0 in the first round, saving three game points in the opening game.
• Harimoto had won the Asian Championships men's singles title in Tashkent three days earlier.
• Alexis Lebrun lost to Patrick Franziska despite leading by two games and holding match points.
• Félix Lebrun, Sora Matsushima, Truls Moregard, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu all reached the last 16.
• The finals are on Sunday, 1 November.

FAQ

Q: Who knocked out Tomokazu Harimoto in Montpellier? French wildcard Simon Gauzy beat him 3-0 in the first round on 28 October 2026.

Q: Is Wang Chuqin playing in Montpellier? No. He withdrew injured on 23 October and An Jaehyun took his place in the draw.

Q: When are the WTT Champions Montpellier finals in Malaysia time? The finals are on Sunday, 1 November. Sessions are listed for 11:00 and 17:30 local time, which is 6pm and 12.30am Malaysia time.

Sources: Fédération Française de Tennis de Table, Tennis2Table, Infinity Sport, UNI India