Bundesliga

After an eventful few weeks at various international tournaments, the stars of the Table Tennis Bundesliga will be back in action in the TTBL starting Sunday. The big question remains: who will beat the undefeated top two teams? Borussia Düsseldorf and TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen have won all six of their matches. The record champions will face TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau on Monday, while TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen will host TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg on Sunday. These two matches, along with all other TTBL games, will be broadcast live on Dyn.

TSV Bad Königshofen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt

Twelfth place versus eleventh place, 2:10 points versus 2:10 points: For TSV Bad Königshofen and TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt, this matchup is the best opportunity of the season so far to close the gap on the teams above them. What stands out for Bergneustadt is how close their losses have been: Last season’s third-place finisher lost 2–3 three times—against Ochsenhausen, Bad Homburg, and most recently Mühlhausen—though they did manage a 3–2 victory over Fulda in the doubles. Bad Königshofen secured its only win of the season so far on Matchday 3 in Mühlhausen (3–1) and has been waiting for another victory ever since. In the most recent 1–3 loss in Saarbrücken, however, Bastian Steger made a strong statement: The veteran defeated Patrick Franziska 3–2, thereby contributing the TSV’s only point against the German champions.

ASC Grünwettersbach – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT

The ASC Arena in Grünwettersbach is known for its electric atmosphere, but it hasn’t brought the Baden team any luck so far this season. ASC Grünwettersbach has earned both of its wins this season on the road—3–2 in Bad Königshofen and 3–2 in Bremen—while losing all three matches played at home. Most recently, they suffered a 2–3 loss to Grenzau, with Tiago Apolonia and Tobias Hippler falling 2–3 in the decisive doubles match. 1. FC Saarbrücken TT arrives in third place in the standings; their two losses so far came against Bremen (1–3) and in Ochsenhausen (0–3). That was followed by a 3–1 win over Bad Königshofen, in which Hugo Calderano won both singles matches without dropping a set. It remains to be seen which lineup the German champions will field: Patrick Franziska was in the quarterfinals at the WTT Champions in Frankfurt on Saturday; Calderano had already been eliminated there in the round of 16 by Wim Verdonschot.

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg

Six matches, six wins—and that with a noticeably rotating lineup: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen has recently extended its winning streak twice without Shunsuke Togami. In the 3-0 win over Saarbrücken, Daniel Berzosa, Tiago Abiodun, and Iulian Chirita scored; in the 3-2 victory in Fulda, the match was decided after nearly four hours in the final doubles match, which Berzosa and Darius Movileanu won. “All the players have a lot of confidence,” Berzosa said afterward. Togami is likely to miss TTF’s match again on Sunday, as he is competing in the semifinals of the WTT Champions. TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg is also riding a wave of momentum after three wins in their last four matches. Most recently, they secured a 3-1 victory over Bremen. Csaba Andras claimed two wins in that match, while Finn Luu defeated Kirill Gerassimenko 3-1. “In Bad Homburg, we’re facing another young team that’s coming to Ochsenhausen on the heels of a victory over Bremen,” says TTF coach Bogdan Pugna. “We expect a tough match; we’ll give it our all and do everything we can to keep the points at home.”

TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – Borussia Düsseldorf

TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau and Borussia Düsseldorf have faced off in the TTBL for 44 years, but rarely has the record champion entered the Zugbrückenhalle with such a record: 12-0 in points, 18-3 in singles, and atop the standings. In the 3–1 win over Dortmund, Fan Zhendong won both singles matches, and Dang Qiu sealed the victory with a 3–1 win over Kristian Karlsson. Coach Danny Heister, however, has to improvise: “Dang is currently also in the Champions League quarterfinals in Frankfurt,” the Dutchman noted, referring to the dual commitment; on top of that, there was hardly any time for joint training after the long league break. Grenzau, meanwhile, has settled into the middle of the standings and secured two straight wins: 3–2 against Bad Königshofen and 3–2 in Grünwettersbach. Newcomer Liam Pitchford has been particularly impressive: The Englishman remains undefeated and won both singles matches in Grünwettersbach. With 6–6 points, the six-time German champion sits in seventh place in the standings.

Post SV Mühlhausen – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell

Two teams with 4:8 points, two completely different trajectories: After losing its first three matches, Post SV Mühlhausen has won two of its last three games—both on the road and both by narrow margins. Most recently, they secured a 3–2 victory in Bergneustadt, with Ovidiu Ionescu and Marcos Freitas clinching a 3–0 win in doubles. TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell, on the other hand, has been involved in the closest matches in the league: Five of the East Hessian team’s six matches so far have gone all the way to the doubles, though only once in the TTC’s favor. Consequently, the evenly matched singles record of 14–14 is offset by a points tally of just 4–8. At least Dimitrij Ovtcharov returned against Ochsenhausen after an injury layoff and defeated Iulian Chirita 3–1. At the WTT Champions in Frankfurt, his run ended in the round of 16 against Dang Qiu.

SV Werder Bremen – Borussia Dortmund

SV Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund are tied at 6-6; Wednesday’s head-to-head matchup will decide who takes fourth place. Werder returned from the roughly six-week league break on a low note: In Monday’s 1–3 loss in Bad Homburg, Mattias Karlsson was out with a hand injury, and Kirill Gerassimenko—still exhausted from the Asian Championships—lost both of his matches. “That wasn’t our best day,” coach Cristian Tamas admitted. Dortmund most recently lost 1-3 in Düsseldorf but celebrated Wim Verdonschot’s performance: The 21-year-old defeated Kanak Jha 3-1. He followed that up in Frankfurt by defeating Hugo Calderano 3-1. “That was an unbelievable match. I think I played at a very, very high level,” said Verdonschot.

Match day #7 at a glance

Sunday, November 8
2 p.m.: TSV Bad Königshofen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
3:30 p.m.: ASC Grünwettersbach – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT
5 p.m.: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg

Monday, November 9
7 p.m.: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – Borussia Düsseldorf

Tuesday, November 10
7 p.m.: Post SV Mühlhausen – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell

Wednesday, November 11
7 p.m.: SV Werder Bremen – Borussia Dortmund

All matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.

Header photo: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen's Iulian Chirita (by BeLa Sportfoto)