Bundesliga

Without Fan Zhendong and Darko Jorgic but with Patrick Franziska, 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT bounced back from the painful loss to Bad Homburg and sped to a 3–0 win at TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau on Matchday 9 of the TTBL. The FCS now turns its focus to Monday’s cup quarterfinal.

“It’s a task that can hardly be tougher if Saarbrücken turn up with their best team,” Grenzau manager Markus Ströher had warned beforehand. The feared strongest lineup didn’t travel, but led by top player Patrick Franziska the hosts still found no way through. In a title contender vs. relegation fight, the Saarlanders kept pace with the leading duo Düsseldorf/Bremen after missing the chance to go top on Matchday 8 with a defeat to Bad Homburg.

“We were under pressure after the last game,” Franziska told Dyn. The win means the FCS are “right up there again.” With the league so balanced and every match tight, he added, they’re happy “to be in the mix at the top and hopefully cement our place.” In the cup, second-tier Velbert await in Monday’s quarterfinal.

Muramatsu strikes first

Yuto Muramatsu opened with the day’s most hard-fought match, outlasting Grenzau’s No. 1 Feng Yi-Hsin 3–1 with standout defense. “Yuto came in and played great against Feng right away,” praised Franziska. “That makes things easier for us.” Franziska then doubled the lead with a clinical 3–0 over Martin Allegro, before Cedric Meissner sealed the away win by sweeping Samuel Walker 3–0.

Grenzau remain second from bottom after nine rounds. The TTBL ever-present has two wins so far and now look to the cup for a lift: on Monday they visit TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell in the quarterfinals, chasing a ticket to the Liebherr Pokal Final Four on January 4, 2026 in Ulm/Neu-Ulm.

Matchday 9 fixtures

SV Werder Bremen – Borussia Dortmund 3:0
Kirill Gerassimenko – Alberto Mino 3:2 (11:9, 11:8, 9:11, 6:11, 11:9)
Irvin Bertrand – Adam Szudi 3:0 (11:8, 11:9, 11:7)
Mattias Falck – Cedric Nuytinck 3:2 (8:11, 13:11, 9:11, 11:6, 11:7)

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TSV Bad Königshofen 3:1
Shunsuke Togami – Filip Zeljko 3:0 (11:7, 11:6, 12:10)
Andreas Levenko – Daniel Habesohn 3:1 (11:3, 7:11, 11:5, 11:8)
Tiago Abiodun – Bastian Steger 1:3 (11:9, 7:11, 5:11, 7:11)
Shunsuke Togami – Daniel Habesohn 3:2 (11:5, 11:13, 11:8, 8:11, 11:5)

TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – Borussia Düsseldorf 1:3
Jo Yokotani – Yongyin Li 3:0 (11:9, 11:5, 11:5)
Benno Oehme – Kanak Jha 2:3 (11:4, 11:9, 8:11, 3:11, 4:11)
Juan Perez – Anton Källberg 1:3 (11:8, 6:11, 4:11, 9:11)
Jo Yokotani – Kanak Jha 1:3 (7:11, 5:11, 11:5, 5:11)

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – Post SV Mühlhausen 3:2
Jonathan Groth – Ovidiu Ionescu 3:2 (11:4, 11:9, 13:15, 8:11, 11:9)
Dimitrij Ovtcharov – Steffen Mengel 3:0 (11:9, 11:8, 11:7)
Fanbo Meng – Kay Stumper 2:3 (11:8, 14:16, 7:11, 11:5, 7:11)
Jonathan Groth – Steffen Mengel 1:3 (9:11, 11:9, 9:11, 6:11)
Ovtcharov/Meng – Ionescu/Stumper 3:1 (11:6, 11:7, 9:11, 11:8)

TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT 0:3
Feng Yi-Hsin – Yuto Muramatsu 1:3 (9:11, 11:7, 6:11, 9:11)
Martin Allegro – Patrick Franziska 0:3 (4:11, 3:11, 6:11)
Samuel Walker – Cedric Meissner 0:3 (7:11, 6:11, 4:11)

Sunday, 23 November – 18:00: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – ASC Grünwettersbach

Picture: Patrick Franziska of 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT (Photo: Ulrich Höfer)