Bundesliga

On Monday evening, 1. FC Saarbrücken TT won the top match of the fourth match day of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL). In the Hubtex Arena, the reigning Champions League winners prevailed 3:1 against TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell. Neither team was at full strength: Fulda had to do without Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Cheng-Jui Kao, while Saarbrücken played without superstar Fan Zhendong. The match winner of the evening was national player Patrick Franziska, who won both singles matches with ease.

The hosts got off to a dream start at the beginning of the match: defensive specialist Ruwen Filus defeated Saarbrücken's Eduard Ionescu after an intense five-set match. The deciding set turned into a nerve-wracking affair in which neither player was able to pull away decisively. With the score at 9:9, Filus kept his nerve and brought Fulda home with an 11:9 victory – 1:0 for the East Hessians.

Saarbrücken captain Patrick Franziska responded promptly. After an even start, he didn't let anything slip against Fanbo Meng. Although Meng won the second set to level the match, Franziska then dominated the third and fourth sets, winning 11-2 and 11-4.

Jorgic turns the tide

The third singles match between Jonathan Groth and Darko Jorgic was the turning point of the evening. Groth got off to a perfect start, dominating the first set 11-5 and quickly taking a 9-6 lead in the second. But Jorgic refused to be shaken off, fought his way back and turned the set around to win 11-9. This turnaround changed the entire match: while Groth lost his rhythm, Jorgic confidently took the next two sets 11-8 each. He turned a looming 0-2 deficit into a 3-1 lead and put Saarbrücken in front.

Franziska scores twice

Ruwen Filus took to the court once again to finish the match, this time against Patrick Franziska. After his five-set match at the start, the defensive specialist was unable to keep the match open. Franziska controlled the game from the start, winning the first two sets 11-8 and 11-7, and then sealing the deal in the third set with a score of 11-3.

‘Today's victory was extremely important for us,’ Franziska explained after the match. ‘Any team can beat any other, and after a bumpy start against Bergneustadt, we are naturally delighted with this success. But we have to keep at it and establish ourselves in the upper half of the table.’

With this away win, 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT takes the lead in the table. Saarbrücken shares the points with the teams from Bergneustadt, Grünwettersbach Bremen and Mühlhausen, but leads the table thanks to a better match ratio. Fulda is now in 7th place with 4:4 points, level with Ochsenhausen and Düsseldorf.

4.Matchday Overview

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT 1:3
Ruwen Filus – Eduard Ionescu 3:2 (9:11, 11:8, 11:7, 11:13, 11:9)
Fanbo Meng - Patrick Franziska 1:3 (9:11, 11:8, 2:11, 4:11)
Jonathan Groth – Darko Jorgic 1:3 (11:5, 9:11, 8:11, 8:11)
Ruwen Filus – Patrick Franziska 0:3 (8:11, 7:11, 3:11)

Borussia Dortmund – ASC Grünwettersbach 1:3
Kristian Karlsson – Hiroto Shinozuka 3:1 (13:11, 6:11, 11:5, 16:14)
Adam Szudi – Tiago Apolonia 0:3 (7:11, 8:11, 6:11)
Cedric Nuytunck – Ricardo Walther 0:3 (6:11, 8:11, 6:11)
Kristian Karlsson – Tiago Apolonia 2:3 (11:9, 13:15, 11:8, 7:11, 6:11)

TSV Bad Königshofen – Borussia Düsseldorf 1:3
Filip Zeljko – Kanak Jha 2:3 (8:11, 11:5, 9:11, 12:10, 5:11)
Bastian Steger – Anton Källberg 3:2 (12:10, 9:11, 11:7, 11:13, 12:10)
Andre Bertelsmeier – Dang Qiu 0:3 (10:12, 5:11, 8:11)
Filip Zeljko – Anton Källberg 1:3 (8.11, 11:8, 9:11, 9:11)

TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 3:1
Jo Yokotani – Martin Allegro 3:1 (11:7, 6:11, 11:5, 11:3)
Ivor Ban – Feng Yi-Hsin 1:3 (3:11, 7:11, 11:5, 4:11)
Csaba Andras – Samuel Walker 3:0 (11:0, 11:8, 14:12)
Jo Yokotani – Feng Yi-Hsin 3:1 (7:11, 11:9, 17:15, 11:7)

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – SV Werder Bremen 3:1
Shunsuke Togami – Irvin Bertrand 3:1 (11:9, 10:12, 11:4, 12:10)
Tiago Abiodun – Kirill Gerassimenko 1:3 (5:11, 3:11, 12:10, 2:11)
Iulian Chirita – Matthias Falck 3:0 (11:5, 11:4, 11:6)
Shunsuke Togami – Kirill Gerassimenko 3:1 (11:8, 9:11, 11:9, 11:8)

TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – Post SV Mühlhausen 3:0
Adrien Rassenfosse – Erik Schreyer 3:0 (11:2, 11:5, 11:5)
Leo de Nodrest – Ovidiu Ionescu 3:1 (10:12, 11:8, 13:11, 11:3)
Romain Ruiz – Marcos Freitas 3:0 (11:3, 11:4, 11:6)

All matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.

Featured image above: Patrick Franziska from 1. FC Saarbrücken TT (Photo: Ulrich Höfer)