Bundesliga

The Hessian derby in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) between TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg and TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell had everything table tennis fans love: excitement, thrilling rallies and close decisions. In the end, it was the visitors from Fulda who prevailed 3:1, showing that experience and consistency make all the difference in the decisive moments. Bad Homburg, fresh from their first win of the season against Grenzau, were unable to keep up despite strong individual performances – new signing Juan Perez in particular shone for the hosts.

The opening match between Ruwen Filus and Jo Yokotani promised excitement. Yokotani, Bad Homburg's mainstay so far, once again showed his skills, but Filus kept his nerve in the decisive phases. In the fourth set, the defensive ace was already leading 5-1, but Yokotani fought back and took a 10-8 lead. In the end, however, it was Filus who celebrated, defending a total of four set points from the Japanese player and securing the first point for Fulda.

Perez celebrates first TTBL victory

Juan Perez then put in a strong performance and celebrated his first victory in the TTBL. Against Fulda veteran Jonathan Groth, Perez made his mark particularly in his own service phases. After losing the second set, he fought back and won the third and fourth sets (11-5, 8-11, 11:5, 12:10). Coach Helmut Hampl was overjoyed after the match, as Perez's victory is not only a personal success, but also a signal to the hosts that the new signings can fulfil their potential in the Bundesliga.

Fulda remained unimpressed after the equaliser. Dimitrij Ovtcharov went into the third match as the favourite and confirmed his role in the Fulda team with a 3-0 victory (11-8, 11-6, 11-9). Csaba Andras put up a good fight and kept the sets close, so that the outcome remained exciting until the end. With this victory, Ovtcharov gave his team the decisive lead.

Groth secures overall victory

In the final duel between Jo Yokotani and Jonathan Groth, the Bad Homburg player tried everything, but Groth prevailed after four sets with a score of 3:1 (11:5, 10:12, 11:7, 11:5). This secured Fulda the overall victory with a score of 3:1 and showed that the team can rely on its key players despite fluctuations in the performance of individual players.

At the end of the fifth match day on Tuesday, 7 October, TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau will face TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt. While Grenzau is fighting to catch up with the mid-table after winning four games, Bergneustadt wants to build on its strong season record with a win and climb to the top of the table. The duels between the top players of both teams in particular promise excitement until the last rally.

Overview 05.

TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell 1:3
Jo Yokotani – Ruwen Filus 1:3 (7:11, 12:10, 9:11, 12:14)
Juan Perez – Jonathan Groth 3:1 (11:5, 8:11, 11:5, 12:10)
Csaba Andras – Dimitrij Ovtcharov 0:3 (8:11, 6:11, 9:11)
Jo Yokotani – Jonathan Groth 1:3 (5:11, 12:10, 7:11, 5:11)

SV Mühlhausen – Borussia Dortmund 1:3
Kay Stumper – Kristian Karlsson 0:3 (9:11, 6:11, 10:12)
Marcos Freitas – Anders Lind 1:3 (12:14, 11:5, 8:11, 9:11)
Steffen Mengel – Cedric Nuytinck 3:2 (11:9, 11:7, 9:11, 8:11, 11:7)
Kay Stumper – Anders Lind 1:3 (9:11, 11:7, 12:14, 7:11)

SV Werder Bremen – 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT 3:2
Mattias Falck – Darko Jorgic 2:3 (11:9, 11:8, 9:11, 10:12, 9:11)
Marcelo Aguirre – Fan Zhendong 3:1 (12:10, 6:11, 11:6, 11:6)
Kirill Gerassimenko – Patrick Franziska 3:1 (14:12, 8:11, 11:8, 11:7)
Mattias Falck – Fan Zhendong 0:3 (9:11, 8:11, 6:11)
Kirill Gerassimenko/Irvin Bertrand – Patrick Franziska/Cedric Meissner 3:0 (11:7, 11:6, 11:6)

ASC Grünwettersbach – TSV Bad Königshofen 0:3
Tiago Apolonia – Daniel Habesohn 1:3 (9:11, 11:9, 9:11, 5:11)
Emanuel Otalvaro – Andre Bertelsmeier 0:3 (7:11, 11:13, 5:11)
Ricardo Walther – Bastian Steger 2:3 (8:11, 11:5, 11:13, 11:7, 10:12)

Borussia Düsseldorf – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 3:1
Kanak Jha – Andreas Levenko 2:3 (11:6, 9:11, 11:6, 15:17, 8:11)
Li Yongyin – Tiago Abiodun 3:1 (9:11, 11:5, 11:6, 11:5)
Anton Källberg – Leonardo Iizuka 3:0 (11:5, 11:9, 11:7)
Kanak Jha – Tiago Abiodun 3:1 (9:11, 11:8, 11:8, 11:5)

Tuesday, 7 October
7 p.m.: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt

All matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.

Featured image above: Jonathan Groth from TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell (Photo: Patrick Wichmann)