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Matchday 5: Top Clash in Ochsenhausen

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Matchday 5: Top Clash in Ochsenhausen

Matchday five of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) begins on September 13 and stretches over a total of nine days. After the first four matchdays, seven teams already have just one win apiece. At the top, meanwhile, a small group of five has pulled slightly ahead with three or four wins.

SV Werder Bremen – ASC Grünwettersbach

Werder Bremen belongs to that group of five. The Hanseatic side won twice at the doubles stage before suffering a loss to Borussia Düsseldorf and then beating Saarbrücken. "Despite the home defeat against the big favorite Borussia Düsseldorf, we've had a dream start and picked up three wins despite tough opponents. That gives us plenty of confidence heading into the match against Grünwettersbach," says Bremen coach Christian Tamas. ASC Grünwettersbach, under coach Kilian Ort, started with a win at Ort's former club Bad Königshofen, followed by losses to Ochsenhausen, Dortmund, and Mühlhausen. Ort says: "The two points at the start were important — we'd have liked to beat Mühlhausen too." Grünwettersbach currently sits eleventh in the table. On the upcoming match, Ort adds: "Bremen is the favorite, they have a few more points than us. Last year we lost only very narrowly in Bremen. We hope we can give them a scare."

TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – TTC OE Clarity-Tel.Syst.Bad Homburg

TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt suffered an unlucky opening loss to Ochsenhausen. Against Fulda, the team around national player Benedikt Duda showed it can also win doubles. Both NRW derbies against Dortmund and Düsseldorf were lost 1:3. That leaves Bergneustadt on 2:6 points, the same as Bad Homburg. The Hessians faced a tough opening schedule with Düsseldorf, Fulda, Saarbrücken, and Dortmund. Head coach Slobodan Grujić's side won the Hesse derby 3:2. "We need to be patient," sporting director Sven Rehde told the Frankfurter Neue Presse.

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT

Alongside Borussia Düsseldorf, TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen is the only team in the TTBL still unbeaten. A standout Shunsuke Togami has been key to that — as has the doubles when it mattered. That the "Ochsen" can also win without their Japanese top player was shown at the last matchday in Bad Königshofen, where they claimed a commanding 3:0 away win with Berzosa, Movileanu, and Chirita. Saarbrücken also started the season unbeaten (wins over Dortmund, Mühlhausen, Bad Homburg), but had to concede at home to a currently strong Bremen side. Now, in Baden-Württemberg, second faces third. According to the club's website, Ochsenhausen will even add extra stands to their hall for this match.

BV Borussia 09 Dortmund – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell

Both Dortmund and Fulda-Maberzell have won nine individual matches each. The difference: Dortmund sits fourth with 6:2 points, while the Hessians are sixth with 2:6 points. Fulda-Maberzell needed the doubles three times and lost all three — twice with the Istrate/Groth pairing and once with Istrate/Filus. Their most recent match, though, was a clear 3:0 home win over Grenzau. Dortmund faced a tough opening opponent in 1. FC Saarbrücken (0:3), before picking up three wins. The Borussians' season goal, according to coach Evgeny Fadeev, is "to compete for a spot in the Final Four." Whether a win over Fulda is a step toward that remains to be seen. Either way, both teams enter this match on the back of a win from the last matchday.

TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – TSV Bad Königshofen

Last season, both Grenzau and Bad Königshofen fought a long battle to avoid relegation — something both teams will certainly want to spare their fans this time. After four matchdays, both sit on 2:6 points. Grenzau won its opening match in Mühlhausen but has lost three in a row since. Bad Königshofen lost its season opener against Grünwettersbach, followed by defeats to Düsseldorf and Ochsenhausen. The Lower Franconians' only win of the season so far also came against Mühlhausen. TSV manager Andy Albert: "Aside from the Ochsenhausen match, we can be quite satisfied with how the season has gone so far. Of course, we would have liked to win our opening match against Grünwettersbach. Grenzau will be a tricky task, but one we can handle."

Post SV Mühlhausen – Borussia Düsseldorf

With four wins under their belt, Borussia Düsseldorf travel to Thuringia. They've lost only two singles matches so far. Kanak Jha lost to Filip Zeljko, and Anton Källberg to Benedikt Duda. With Fan Zhendong (5:0) and Dang Qiu (3:0), the team from the Rhineland boasts two of the top six players in the TTBL player rankings. The best record among the Thuringians belongs to Ovidiu Ionescu (2:2). Düsseldorf's opponents so far have been Bad Homburg, Bad Königshofen, Werder Bremen, and TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt. Mühlhausen lost its first three matches against Grenzau, Saarbrücken, and Bad Königshofen, but picked up its first points last matchday against Grünwettersbach. Will there be an upset at the Arag-Center-Court?