Bundesliga

After a disappointing opening defeat of the new year against Bad Konigshofen, the TTBL league leaders avoided a full-blown false start. At TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg, Werder Bremen battled back from 1:2 down and prevailed in the deciding doubles. Matchwinner Kirill Gerassimenko showcased his nerve on two occasions on Friday night.

Afterwards, Werder coach Cristian Tamas could hardly put his finger on it. “Mentally, at some point he managed to find a tactic and stick to it, which isn’t easy at all,” Tamas said to Dyn, visibly relieved. His player Kirill Gerassimenko tested the coach’s nerves twice. First, he overturned a 0:2 deficit against Juan Perez; later he produced another comeback, this time from 1:2 down in sets against Bad Homburg’s No. 1 Csaba Andras. They were the only two singles points for Tamas’ side.

For long stretches, Bad Homburg had the upper hand. “We knew it would be a tough fight because the guys are really well prepared,” Tamas said, praising the team coached by his counterpart Helmut Hampl. The coaching legend was disappointed, but could not hide his pride despite the bitter defeat. Bertrand had no chance against Andras, with the Frenchman never finding his game. “I have to pay the team a huge compliment,” Hampl said. In particular, he was impressed by the performance without top player Jo Yokotani: “To play without your No. 1 and lead Bremen 2:1 is some achievement.”

Bad Homburg without an established doubles pairing

Andras set the tone early, making quick work of Irvin Bertrand. The lanky Frenchman never really found his rhythm against the TTC player and lacked the spark to fight his way back into the match. Mattias Falck faced a similar fate: after a strong opening set against Ivor Ban, the Swede ran out of answers against the tall Hungarian. Hampl later explained the expected defeat in the closing doubles by pointing to the reshuffle forced by Yokotani’s absence. With Andras moved up to No. 1, Bad Homburg could not field one of Ban’s usual doubles partners.

Bremen have, for now, held on to top spot, though Borussia Dusseldorf could still overtake them on Matchday 13 on match difference. With only three defeats, the northern club are enjoying an outstanding season and remain firmly on course for the play-offs. Bad Homburg, meanwhile, have made waves with recent wins over Fulda and Bergneustadt and have climbed into a tightly packed lower mid-table. On ten points, the club from Hesse sit eighth.

Matchday 13 fixtures

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

All matches are streamed live on Dyn.

Picture: Kirill Gerassimenko of SV Werder Bremen (Photo: SV Werder Bremen)