Bundesliga

TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg broke their duck on Matchday 4 of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL), celebrating their first win of the season. In front of a lively crowd at the Wingert Sporthalle, the hosts beat direct rivals TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 3:1 to move ahead of them in the standings.

The match-winner was Jo Yokotani, who came through in both the opening and the closing singles. He first overcame Martin Allegro 3:1 before grinding out a 3:1 win against Grenzau’s top player Feng Yi-Hsin in the fourth match. The atmosphere boiled over in the third game of that contest, which Yokotani edged 17:15 to take the lead. Speaking afterwards on Dyn, Grenzau coach Slobodan Grujic called it “a very important match” and admitted Bad Homburg were worthy winners: “Maybe Feng could have taken the third game against Yokotani. It was a great match, and Yokotani is playing very well at the moment.”

Andras delivers the key point

After Feng had levelled the tie with victory over Ivor Ban, who was making his first singles appearance after injury, the momentum shifted decisively to the hosts. Csaba Andras laid the foundation with a commanding 3:0 win against Samuel Walker. The Hungarian even won the opening game without conceding a point and stayed in control throughout. “What Jo and Csaba played today was top class,” praised Bad Homburg coach Helmut Hampl.

Hampl, however, tempered expectations around Ban: “Ivor is maybe at 50 percent of his playing strength. I have to give him the chance and see where he stands. If he can’t prove himself, someone else will play,” the coach explained regarding possible future appearances.

Bad Homburg move ahead of Grenzau

With the 3:1 victory, Bad Homburg leapfrogged Grenzau in the table. Both teams now sit on 2:6 points, but the better ratio puts the Hessians in front. Grujic summed up his side’s position with a sober assessment: “We played well in the first two matches, the last two not so much. We need to play much better if we want to stay in the league this year.”

Matchday 4 fixtures

TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 3:1
Jo Yokotani – Martin Allegro 3:1 (11:7, 6:11, 11:5, 11:3)
Ivor Ban – Feng Yi-Hsin 1:3 (3:11, 7:11, 11:5, 4:11)
Csaba Andras – Samuel Walker 3:0 (11:0, 11:8, 14:12)
Jo Yokotani – Feng Yi-Hsin 3:1 (7:11, 11:9, 17:15, 11:7)

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – SV Werder Bremen 3:1
Shunsuke Togami – Irvin Bertrand 3:1 (11:9, 10:12, 11:4, 12:10)
Tiago Abiodun – Kirill Gerassimenko 1:3 (5:11, 3:11, 12:10, 2:11)
Iulian Chirita – Matthias Falck 3:0 (11:5, 11:4, 11:6)
Shunsuke Togami – Kirill Gerassimenko 3:1 (11:8, 9:11, 11:9, 11:8)

TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – Post SV Mühlhausen 3:0
Adrien Rassenfosse – Erik Schreyer 3:0 (11:2, 11:5, 11:5)
Leo de Nodrest – Ovidiu Ionescu 3:1 (10:12, 11:8, 13:11, 11:3)
Romain Ruiz – Marcos Freitas 3:0 (11:3, 11:4, 11:6)

Sonntag, 21. September
15.30 Uhr: TSV Bad Königshofen – Borussia Düsseldorf
17 Uhr: Borussia Dortmund – ASC Grünwettersbach

Montag, 22. September
19 Uhr: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT

All Games are broadcast live on Dyn.

Picture: Csaba Andras of TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg (Photo: Wolfgang Bauer)