Bundesliga

Fielding their strongest possible lineup, 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT suffered their second defeat of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) season. Away at SV Werder Bremen, the Saarlanders fell after nearly three and a half hours in the deciding doubles and, along with two points, also surrendered top spot in the standings on the Weser. Superstar Fan Zhendong did get on the board, but surprisingly lost to Marcelo Aguirre.

The moment of the evening came just before the interval: in his first appearance of the season, Marcelo Aguirre beat three-time Olympic champion and long-time world No. 1 Fan Zhendong 3–1. “It’s one of the best days of my career,” the 32-year-old said afterwards on Dyn. It levelled the tie and marked the first step towards a major upset by the hosts from the Hanseatic city.

Jorgic averts false start against in-form Falck

Earlier, Darko Jorgic had edged the opening rubber against Mattias Falck 11–9 in the decider to give favourites FCS a 1–0 lead. As it turned out shortly thereafter, the Slovenian had only just spared his club an embarrassing 0–3 defeat. “What Mattias showed in the first match was more than world-class,” Saarbrücken team manager Nicola Barrois praised Falck afterwards.

After the break, a motivated and self-confident Kirill Gerassimenko put the hosts back in front with a four-game win over Patrick Franziska. “It’s not meant as an excuse, but there’s a lot of travelling back and forth,” Barrois noted, pointing out that Franziska had only just arrived from China. Fan then produced a much improved performance to sweep Falck in straight games, forcing the deciding doubles.

Ionescu not released – Werder go top

In the doubles, Franziska and Gerassimenko faced each other again — this time each alongside a fresh left-hander. While Bertrand’s composure in the pairs proved decisive in Bremen’s clear 3–0, Barrois defended Saarbrücken’s Meissner. He had “put the team first,” Barrois said, as Meissner was likely pressed into service unexpectedly after eight weeks out injured. Eduard Ionescu was not released by the Romanian federation ahead of the European Team Championships.

For Werder fans, the table made pleasant reading in the evening: with Bergneustadt and Mühlhausen still to play, Bremen replaced Saarbrücken at the summit. FCS slipped to fourth — the final play-off spot.

Matchday 5 Fixtures

SV Werder Bremen – 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT 3:2
Mattias Falck – Darko Jorgic 2:3 (11:9, 11:8, 9:11, 10:12, 9:11)
Marcelo Aguirre – Fan Zhendong 3:1 (12:10, 6:11, 11:6, 11:6)
Kirill Gerassimenko – Patrick Franziska 3:1 (14:12, 8:11, 11:8, 11:7)
Mattias Falck – Fan Zhendong 0:3 (9:11, 8:11, 6:11)
Kirill Gerassimenko/Irvin Bertrand – Patrick Franziska/Cedric Meissner 3:0 (11:7, 11:6, 11:6)

ASC Grünwettersbach – TSV Bad Königshofen 0:3
Tiago Apolonia – Daniel Habesohn 1:3 (9:11, 11:9, 9:11, 5:11)
Emanuel Otalvaro – Andre Bertelsmeier 0:3 (7:11, 11:13, 5:11)
Ricardo Walther – Bastian Steger 2:3 (8:11, 11:5, 11:13, 11:7, 10:12)

Borussia Düsseldorf – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 3:1
Kanak Jha – Andreas Levenko 2:3 (11:6, 9:11, 11:6, 15:17, 8:11)
Li Yongyin – Tiago Abiodun 3:1 (9:11, 11:5, 11:6, 11:5)
Anton Källberg – Leonardo Iizuka 3:0 (11:5, 11:9, 11:7)
Kanak Jha – Tiago Abiodun 3:1 (9:11, 11:8, 11:8, 11:5)

Monday, October 6
6:30 p.m.: Post SV Mühlhausen – Borussia Dortmund
7:00 p.m.: TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell

Tuesday, October 7
7:00 p.m.: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt

All matches will be streamed live on Dyn.

Picture: Kirill Gerassimenko of SV Werder Bremen (Photo: SV Werder Bremen)