Bundesliga

TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt is just one small, final step away from qualifying for the Liebherr TTBL Final4. With their 3-1 victory on Tuesday at Post SV Mühlhausen, Benedikt Duda and his teammates defended their fourth-place standing in the table and are in prime position to advance to the semifinals of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL). SV Werder Bremen has already secured its spot, celebrating a 3-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund at the same time.

Mathematically, nothing is set in stone yet, but TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt still has an excellent chance of qualifying for the Liebherr TTBL Final4. On Tuesday evening, the fourth-place team secured a 3-1 victory over Post SV Mühlhausen on Matchday 19 of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL), thereby solidifying its position in the top four. With three matches remaining, Bergneustadt (26-12 points) now has a six-point lead over fifth-place TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen (20-18) and also a significantly better head-to-head record.

Qualification for the Liebherr TTBL Final4 isn’t “quite” secured yet, said Bergneustadt’s Benedikt Duda that evening when asked about his team’s semifinal prospects: “We just did the math—we still need one or two more wins. But it’s in our own hands. Of course, we also want to win the last three matches and show that we’re fully committed. We’ll keep going full throttle.”

Romain Ruiz stages a strong comeback against Marcos Freitas

Bergneustadt played at full throttle in Mühlhausen as well, proving once again why the team has never dropped below fifth place all season. The first singles match immediately became the decisive one: Romain Ruiz was down two sets against Marcos Freitas before staging a powerful comeback. With scores of 11-8, 11-9, and 11-7, Ruiz ultimately clinched the match and gave the visitors a 1-0 lead. “In the end, the first match was the turning point,” noted Post-SV coach Erik Schreyer. “Marcos dominated the match for long stretches. But kudos to Ruiz for how he fought his way back into it.”

Benedikt Duda then extended Bergneustadt’s lead to 2-0 with a 3-1 victory over Liao Cheng-Ting. After the break, Ovidiu Ionescu narrowed the gap for Mühlhausen with a 3-0 win over Leo de Nodrest. But shortly thereafter, the fourth-place team had reason to celebrate: Duda sealed the deal with a 3-1 victory over Freitas.

3-0 in Dortmund: Bremen is ready for the top-of-the-table clash against Düsseldorf

SV Werder Bremen had already secured their spot in the semifinals before the matchday. And as the regular season enters its final stretch, the North Germans are poised to pose a serious threat to Borussia Düsseldorf once again: The 3-0 win at Borussia Dortmund was Bremen’s 15th victory of the season; with 30 points to 8, they continue to hot on the heels of the record champions and league leaders (30-6). Düsseldorf will face TSV Bad Königshofen tomorrow, Wednesday, March 25, and aim to defend their top spot in the standings.

“In the end, we managed to get the win,” Bremen’s Kirill Gerassimenko said with a sigh of relief on Tuesday evening on the Dyn microphone. Regarding the upcoming top-of-the-table clash against Düsseldorf on Friday, March 27, he said: “There’s always a chance, and besides, we’re playing at home. We’ll prepare as best we can—and then we’ll see how far it takes us.”

Bertrand and Gerassimenko also showed resilience

Resilience proved decisive in Bremen’s eventual victory. First and foremost, this was demonstrated by Irvin Bertrand: In the opening singles match, the Frenchman initially trailed 0-1 in sets, then 1-2, but never gave up. With an 11-5 win in the fifth set, Bertrand finally secured a 3-2 victory, giving Werder the break and the lead.

Kirill Gerassimenko also found himself trailing early on—but then staged an equally impressive comeback. The 29-year-old faced a 0-2 deficit against Adam Szudi, but then turned the match around. With scores of 11-5, 11-9, and 11-5, he too secured a 3-2 victory and thus a 2-0 halftime lead for the second-place team, which Mattias Falck ultimately capitalized on with his 3-1 win over Alberto Mino to seal a 3-0 victory for Bremen.

Match day #19 at a glance

ASC Grünwettersbach – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 0:3
Tom Jarvis – Leonardo Iizuka 2:3 (9:11, 7:11, 11:5, 11:8, 11:13)
Ricardo Walther – Andreas Levenko 1:3 (11:5, 8:11, 7:11, 6:11)
Tiago Apolonia – Iulian Chirita 1:3 (16:14, 9:11, 4:11, 7:11)

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 2:3
Ruwen Filus – Luka Mladenovic 2:3 (11:8, 11:8, 8:11, 8:11, 7:11)
Fanbo Meng – Feng Yi-Hsin 3:0 (11:6, 11:9, 11:5)
Jonathan Groth – Martin Allegro 3:2 (13:15, 11:4, 11:9, 6:11, 18:16)
Ruwen Filus – Feng Yi-Hsin 0:3 (6:11, 7:11, 8:11)
Fanbo Meng/Jonathan Groth – Luka Mladenovic/Martin Allegro 2:3 (11:3, 5:11, 9:11, 11:9, 6:11)

Post SV Mühlhausen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt 1:3
Marcos Freitas – Romain Ruiz 2:3 (11:5, 11:8, 8:11, 9:11, 7:11)
Liao Cheng-Ting – Benedikt Duda 1:3 (4:11, 6:11, 11:7, 4:11)
Ovidiu Ionescu – Leo de Nodrest 3:0 (12:10, 11:9, 11:6)
Marcos Freitas – Benedikt Duda 1:3 (6:11, 11:9, 4:11, 9:11)

Borussia Dortmund – SV Werder Bremen 0:3
Kristian Karlsson – Irvin Bertrand 2:3 (11:6, 10:12, 11:3, 7:11, 5:11)
Adam Szudi – Kirill Gerassimenko 2:3 (11:6, 11:8, 5:11, 9:11, 5:11)
Alberto Mino – Mattias Falck 1:3 (11:8, 7:11, 7:11, 8:11)

Wednesday, March 25
6:30 p.m.: Borussia Düsseldorf – TSV Bad Königshofen
7:00 p.m.: TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT

All matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.

Header photo: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt's Romain Ruiz (by Ulrich Höfer)