The round of 16 of the German Table Tennis Cup between TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen and TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt offered table tennis fans a thrilling duel. The hosts were able to breathe a sigh of relief after the return of top player Hugo Calderano, who made a significant contribution to the 3:2 overall win with two individual victories. On the other side, Bergneustadt fielded a decimated team: Kanak Jha, unbeaten this season, led his team, while coach Frederik Duda had to act in a dual role as player and coach, as both Benedikt Duda and Romain Ruiz were absent due to illness and injury respectively.
The opening game went clearly in Ochsenhausen's favor, as Hugo Calderano took on substitute Frederik Duda. Calderano secured the expected point with a clear 3:0 (11:3, 11:5, 11:1).
Simon Gauzy and Kanak Jha faced each other in the second singles match of the day. Jha, who has an unblemished TTBL record of six wins from six matches so far, was once again the key figure for Bergneustadt. However, Gauzy proved to be a stubborn opponent and demanded everything from Jha. In an intense five-set thriller, Jha once again showed his nerves of steel and ultimately prevailed 11:8 in the deciding set (9:11, 11:7, 10:12, 11:9, 8:11).
The third singles match was also very exciting. Shunsuke Togami took on Adrien Rassenfosse. The first set ended narrowly 13:11 for Rassenfosse. Togami countered with a clear 11:6 in the second set, but Rassenfosse proved to be the more consistent player as the match progressed. With two 11:8 victories, the Belgian secured the point for Bergneustadt and gave his team a 2:1 lead.
In the top match, Hugo Calderano faced the previously unbeaten Kanak Jha. Jha started strongly and took the first set 11:7, but Calderano increasingly got into the match. He hit back with an 11:6 in the second set and the next two sets were similar. Calderano finally got the upper hand with 11:5 and 11:5.
The final doubles match was a clear-cut affair for Ochsenhausen. Simon Gauzy and Shunsuke Togami harmonized excellently and showed their superiority both tactically and playfully over the improvised doubles team from Bergneustadt, consisting of Adrien Rassenfosse and Frederik Duda. With a clear 3:0 victory (11:3, 11:5, 11:2), Gauzy and Togami secured the decisive point and thus a place in the quarter-finals of the German Table Tennis Cup.
Adrien Rassenfosse from TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt was satisfied despite the defeat: “It was certainly a good fight from our side. We did our best and are happy to have scored two points against such a strong team. Some of our team got food poisoning two days ago, which Benedikt is still struggling with. Fortunately, I was able to recover quickly.”
Hugo Calderano from TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen expressed his relief after the match: “It wasn't an easy game today. We all played very well and I'm very happy that we won.”
The last two round of 16 matches in the cup are also coming up: On Friday, September 20 at 7:30 pm, TTV Lampertheim will face TTC OE Bad Homburg, while the duel between TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell and Borussia Düsseldorf will take place on Saturday, September 21 at 7:00 pm.
TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt 3:2
Hugo Calderano - Frederik Duda 3:0 (11:3, 11:5, 11:1)
Simon Gauzy - Kanak Jha 2:3 (9:11, 11:7, 10:12, 11:9, 8:11)
Shunsuke Togami - Adrien Rassenfosse (11:13: 11:6: 8:11, 8:11)
Hugo Calderano - Kanak Jha 3:1 (7:11, 11:6, 11:5, 11:4)
Simon Gauzy & Shunsuke Togami - Adrien Rassenfosse & Frederik Rassenfosse 3:0 (11:3, 11:5, 11:2)
1. FC Saarbrücken TT – Borussia Dortmund 3:2
Darko Jorgic - Simon Berglund 3:0 (11:5, 11:5, 11:5)
Patrick Franziska - Yongyin Li 2:3 (11:9, 15:13, 4:11, 6:11, 8:11)
Yuto Muramatsu - Cedric Nuytinck 2:3 (11:9, 5:11, 9:11, 11:7, 7:11)
Darko Jorgic - Yongyin Li 3:1 (11:5, 9:11, 11:5, 11:9)
Patrick Franziska / Cedric Meissner - Cedric Nuytinck / Dennis Klein 3:2 (11:5, 5:11, 14:12, 10:12, 11:8)
TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – ASC Grünwettersbach 1:3
Luka Mladenovic - Leo de Nodrest 0:3 (4:11, 7:11, 9:11)
Maciej Kubik - Ricardo Walther 2:3 (12:10, 9:11, 11:8, 5:11, 4:11)
Yi-Hsin Feng - Tiago Apolonia 3:0 (11:8, 12:10, 11:7)
Samuel Walker - Ricardo Walther 0:3 (5:11, 6:11, 7:11)
TSV Bad Königshofen – Post SV Mühlhausen 3:1
Jin Ueda - Irvin Bertrand 3:0 (12:10, 11:9, 11:4)
Filip Zeljko - Steffen Mengel 2:3 (11:9, 5:11, 9:11, 11:6, 9:11)
Bastian Steger - Ovidiu Ionescu 3:0 (11:6, 11:7, 11:9)
Jin Ueda - Steffen Mengel 3:0 (11:9, 11:6, 11:7)
1. FC Köln – TTC Fortuna Passau 3:2
Andre Bertelsmeier - Elia Schmid 3:1 (11:8, 9:11, 11:5, 11:7)
Lleyton Ullmann - Yuki Matsuyama 0:3 (6:11, 6:11, 3:11)
Tobias Hippler - Viktor Yefimov 3:0 (11:8, 11:5, 15:13)
Andre Bertelsmeier - Yuki Matsuyama 2:3 (11:9, 9:11, 11:9, 13:15, 8:11)
Tobias Hippler/Florian Cnudde - Viktor Yefimov/Elia Schmid 3:1 (5:11, 13:11, 11:2, 11:8)
1. FSV Mainz 05 – SV Werder Bremen
John Oyebode - Kirill Gerassimenko 2:3 (11:7, 5:11, 11:7, 5:11, 9:11)
Ole Kaspers - Mattias Falck 0:3 (6:11, 5:11, 8:11)
Albert Vilardell - Marcelo Aguirre 3:0 (11:7, 11:9, 11:6)
John Oyebode - Mattias Falck 2:3 (11:9, 6:11, 7:11, 11:8, 7:11)
Freitag, 20.09. 19:30 Uhr
TTV Lampertheim – TTC OE Bad Homburg
Samstag, 21.09. 19.00 Uhr
TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – Borussia Düsseldorf
All TTBL and German Table Tennis Cup matches (if a TTBL club has home court) will be broadcast live and on demand on Dyn.
Featured image: Hugo Calderano (Photo: Nicolai Schaal)