Bundesliga

On their second attempt, newly crowned cup winners 1. FC Saarbrucken TT have now also secured their first league win of 2026. Away at Post SV Muhlhausen, the Saarlanders lined up without superstar Fan Zhendong and were pushed to the limit by the Thuringians. In the end, Saarbrucken prevailed in the deciding doubles to seal a 3:2 victory. Steffen Mengel thrilled the home crowd with his win over Patrick Franziska.

In the decisive doubles, Patrick Franziska and Cedric Meissner kept their nerve to close out the evening. After just under three hours of play, the Saarbrucken pair put the finishing touches on the match with a straight-sets win over Steffen Mengel and Liao Cheng-Ting. Moments earlier, however, Ovidiu Ionescu had the chance to decide the contest for the spirited hosts. Against Darko Jorgic, the Muhlhausen man led 2:1 and was on the verge of handing the Slovenian his first TTBL defeat of the season. But Jorgic turned the match just in time, saved match points and ultimately pulled away decisively in the final set.

Ionescu had given Post SV the lead at the start of the night. His opponent Cedric Meissner never found his rhythm and had to congratulate Ionescu after three one-sided sets. Muhlhausen then handed a debut to Liao, whose signing was announced in the summer but who had to wait until Matchday 13 for his first appearance. For his bow, the Taiwanese was thrown straight in against Jorgic, the league’s unbeaten top performer. The Slovenian also came through without any real trouble, taking a 3:0 win.

Mengel battles past Franziska

After the interval, Saarbrucken turned to their leading man Patrick Franziska. In the battle of the No. 3s, the Germany international faced Mengel, whose often strong performances against TTBL stars had not been rewarded so far this season. On Friday night, that changed. The veteran fought back from behind in each of the first two sets to set the platform for a 3:1 win, putting Muhlhausen 2:1 ahead before Saarbrucken rallied to turn the tie around.

Muhlhausen had bought themselves some breathing room in the relegation fight on Matchday 12 with their win over Grunwettersbach, and can therefore absorb the expected defeat against Saarbrucken. Even so, the Thuringians sit ninth and could find themselves level on points with the relegation places after the weekend. 1. FC Saarbrucken TT remain on course for the play-offs and are still firmly in the title race.

Matchday 13 fixtures

Friday, 16 January:
Post SV Muhlhausen – 1. FC Saarbrucken TT 2:3
Ovidiu Ionescu – Cedric Meissner 3:0 (11:8, 11:7, 11:5)
Liao Cheng-Ting – Darko Jorgic 0:3 (6:11, 7:11, 3:11)
Steffen Mengel – Patrick Franziska 3:1 (12:10, 11:9, 12:14, 11:8)
Ovidiu Ionescu – Darko Jorgic 2:3 (11:6, 4:11, 11:8, 13:15, 5:11)
Mengel/Liao – Franziska/Meissner 0:3 (8:11, 9:11, 7:11)

TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – SV Werder Bremen 2:3
Csaba Andras – Irvin Bertrand 3:0 (11:9, 11:4, 11:4)
Juan Perez – Kirill Gerassimenko 2:3 (11:8, 11:3, 10:12, 8:11, 8:11)
Ivor Ban – Mattias Falck 3:1 (4:11, 11:3, 11:6, 11:8)
Csaba Andras – Kirill Gerassimenko 2:3 (5:11, 11:7, 11:6, 8:11, 3:11)
Ban/Perez – Falck/Bertrand 1:3 (3:11, 8:11, 12:10, 2:11)

Saturday, 17 January:
15:00: TSV Bad Konigshofen – TTC Zugbrucke Grenzau

Sunday, 18 January:
13:00: ASC Grunwettersbach – Borussia Dortmund
14:00: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
15:30: Borussia Dusseldorf – TTC RhonSprudel Fulda-Maberzell

Picture: Darko Jorgic of 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT (Photo: Ulrich Höfer)