Bundesliga

TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt made a major statement in the TTBL play-off race on Matchday 15, beating direct rivals Borussia Dortmund 3:1. Led by star man Benedikt Duda, Schwalbe ended BVB’s five-match winning run. Dortmund arrived at full strength, but two points from Duda and a crucial win from Romain Ruiz sealed a home triumph in the Burstenhalle. The result opens up a two-point gap over both Dortmund and defending champions Ochsenhausen.

Once the line-ups were confirmed, it quickly became clear on Sunday that the key matches after the break would decide the contest. “As expected, Dortmund came with their strongest team,” Duda told Dyn. That meant Duda, the world No. 14, at No. 1 for Bergneustadt, and Anders Lind, the world No. 18, leading Dortmund. Both top players were expected to deliver in their opening singles.

And without too much drama, both did exactly that. Against Dortmund’s Adam Szudi, Duda dropped only a fiercely contested second set 14:16, but otherwise kept firm control across four sets. Lind was even more clinical, sweeping Leo de Nodrest 3:0.

Bergneustadt dominate the key matches

Before the highly anticipated clash between the two world-class No. 1s after the interval, Romain Ruiz and Kristian Karlsson stepped up with a chance to ease the burden on their respective leaders. Ruiz’s emphatic 3:0 win swung momentum and put Bergneustadt in the stronger position. “I’m not happy with my performance. But he played very well here as well, his serve is perfect and he plays great with his forehand,” Karlsson said afterwards, giving Ruiz full credit.

For the Swede, who knows the conditions in Bergneustadt well, the venue also mattered in the final match of the night. “Anders is the favourite in Dortmund, Bene is the big favourite here,” Karlsson said. “He’s played so much in this hall, on these tables and with these balls.”

That’s how it played out. Duda quickly took control against Lind, who looked visibly frustrated after falling 0:2 behind. Even when the Dane pulled a set back, Duda stayed composed. “I just stay in my own zone, because I know it’s hard to beat me when I play my game. I didn’t really care what he did out there,” the left-hander said. Duda then wrapped up the fourth set 11:5 to clinch the win for Bergneustadt.

Schwalbe now two points clear of Dortmund and Ochsenhausen

In the table, Bergneustadt held on to fourth place, the final play-off spot, ahead of Dortmund, who had recently put the top teams under pressure with their five-match winning streak. Dortmund and defending champions Ochsenhausen now sit two points behind Bergneustadt. “We’ve set ourselves a goal internally, but I won’t say it out loud,” Duda replied when asked about the dream of the play-offs. “One thing is clear: if we want to reach the Final Four, every matchday is a final for us.”

Next up, Bergneustadt travel to Fulda, while Dortmund host bottom club Bad Konigshofen at the Brugmann Sporthalle.

Matchday 15 fixtures

TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – Borussia Dortmund 3:1
Benedikt Duda – Adam Szudi 3:1 (11:6, 14:16, 11:7, 11:6)
Leo de Nodrest – Anders Lind 0:3 (7:11, 10:12, 6:11)
Romain Ruiz – Kristian Karlsson 3:0 (11:6, 11:8, 11:8)
Benedikt Duda – Anders Lind 3:1 (11:8, 11:5, 9:11, 11:5)

Post SV Muhlhausen – Borussia Dusseldorf 0:3
Steffen Mengel – Anton Kallberg 0:3 (8:11, 6:11, 6:11)
Ovidiu Ionescu – Yongyin Li 1:3 (9:11, 14:16, 12:10, 8:11)
Cheng-Ting Liao – Borgar Haug 1:3 (8:11, 9:11, 11:2, 7:11)

ASC Grunwettersbach – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg 1:3
Tiago Apolonia – Csaba Andras 3:0 (11:6, 11:5, 11:3)
Tom Jarvis – Juan Perez 1:3 (11:8, 6:11, 6:11, 7:11)
Ricardo Walther – Ivor Ban 1:3 (6:11, 10:12, 12:10, 8:11)
Tiago Apolonia – Juan Perez 1:3 (9:11, 13:11, 9:11, 9:11)

TSV Bad Konigshofen – TTC RhonSprudel Fulda-Maberzell 1:3
Fei Xue – Jonathan Groth 3:0 (11:7, 11:6, 11:9)
Bastian Steger – Dimitrij Ovtcharov 1:3 (7:11, 10:12, 11:6, 11:13)
Daniel Habesohn – Fanbo Meng 2:3 (11:8, 12:10, 9:11, 10:12, 5:11)
Fei Xue – Dimitrij Ovtcharov 2:3 (11:8, 11:5, 4:11, 7:11, 10:12)

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – 1. FC Saarbrucken TT 0:3
Shunsuke Togami – Darko Jorgic 2:3 (12:10, 12:10, 8:11, 7:11, 6:11)
Tiago Abiodun – Eduard Ionescu 0:3 (5:11, 7:11, 8:11)
Andreas Levenko – Yuto Muramatsu 0:3 (9:11, 12:14, 10:12)

Sunday, 8 February:
15:00: TTC Zugbrucke Grenzau – SV Werder Bremen

All matches are streamed live on Dyn.

Picture: Benedikt Duda of TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt (Photo: Ulrich Höfer)