Bundesliga

Two international stars dominated the opening fixtures of Matchday 6 in the TTBL. Hugo Calderano celebrated a successful home debut for 1. FC Saarbrücken TT, contributing two singles wins in a 3–1 victory over TSV Bad Königshofen. Liam Pitchford’s second appearance for TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau was equally successful: the Englishman once again delivered two points, just as he had on Monday, to help his new club win 3–2 at ASC Grünwettersbach.

Saarbrücken’s home fans had to wait until Matchday 6 to cheer on Hugo Calderano for the first time at the Joachim Deckarm Halle. “I’ve played here against Saarbrücken so many times, but this was something special,” Calderano said to Dyn after his successful home debut. “The crowd was behind me and I’m happy that everything worked out.”

Fielded at No. 1, the Brazilian showed exactly why FCS had signed him to fill the sporting void left by Fan Zhendong’s departure. Against Andre Bertelsmeier and Daniel Habesohn, the difference in class was clear — something his opponents also acknowledged. “It was a learning experience for me,” admitted Bertelsmeier, who, like his team-mate later in the evening, failed to win a set. After two TTBL appearances for Saarbrücken, Calderano boasts a perfect 4–0 record.

Steger continues his strong form

Between Calderano’s convincing straight-sets wins, Friday night offered considerably more drama. Before the break, Eduard Ionescu and Habesohn engaged in a closely fought battle, with Ionescu eventually claiming the point for Saarbrücken in five sets. Although the Romanian appeared frustrated at times, he showed impressive fighting spirit. Habesohn led 4–2 in the decider, but Ionescu reeled off eight consecutive points and ultimately took the set 11–5.

After the interval, Patrick Franziska looked to seal an early victory for Saarbrücken, but Bad Königshofen’s Bastian Steger had other ideas. The TTBL veteran opened up a two-set lead against the Germany international before emphatically resisting Franziska’s comeback in the evening’s second five-set thriller. The 45-year-old now holds an impressive 5–1 record. Calderano’s second point against Habesohn then completed the 3–1 victory for the defending champions.

Pitchford remains unbeaten in Grenzau colours

Anything Calderano can do, Liam Pitchford can do too. The Englishman made his debut on Monday in TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau’s 3–2 victory over Bad Königshofen and promptly contributed two points. Pitchford repeated the feat on Friday night in Karlsruhe against ASC Grünwettersbach. “It’s surreal. I didn’t expect to play this well,” Pitchford told Dyn of his strong start at Zugbrücke. This week’s matches were his first competitive appearances in more than ten months.

Neither Tiago Apolonia, whom Pitchford beat in straight sets, nor Ricardo Walther, who managed to take one set, could find an answer to the 33-year-old’s powerful backhand in particular. Pitchford thus laid the foundations for Grenzau’s victory. As against Bad Königshofen, however, his team-mates enjoyed less success in the singles: Martin Allegro lost the opener 0–3 to Walther, while Maciej Kubik was beaten by Tom Jarvis in four sets. The tie therefore went to the deciding doubles.

Ort: “In the TTBL, it often comes down to the smallest details”

Both teams entered the doubles with reason for confidence. Grenzau had won the decider against Bad Königshofen, while Grünwettersbach had even secured their two points against title contenders SV Werder Bremen in the deciding doubles.

On Friday night, the Grenzau pairing of Allegro/Kubik made the better start and opened up a 2–0 lead. Roared on by the fans in a lively ASC Arena, however, Apolonia and Tobias Hippler fought back to force a fifth set. Grenzau edged it 11–9. “In the TTBL, it often comes down to the smallest details,” ASC coach Kilian Ort said in his assessment. “Grenzau were just that little bit better than us today.”

Bad Königshofen temporarily bottom of the table

The TTBL standings still offer some consolation for Ort and ASC: with a 4–8 points record, the Karlsruhe side currently occupy ninth place. Grenzau have even climbed into the top half of the table for the time being, moving up to sixth.

Things look somewhat more concerning for TSV. The Bavarians dropped to the bottom of the table on Friday night. “We’re trying to put it out of our minds as much as possible and approach the next matches positively,” Bertelsmeier said of the situation at this early stage of the season. “It doesn’t help to keep thinking about it.”

TTBL action continues on Sunday with the headline clash of Matchday 6. Düsseldorf host BVB in the Borussia derby, with play starting at 14:00. All TTBL matches are streamed live on Dyn.

Matchday 6 fixtures

ASC Grünwettersbach – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 2–3
Ricardo Walther – Martin Allegro 3–0 (11–9, 11–6, 11–9)
Tiago Apolonia – Liam Pitchford 0–3 (8–11, 5–11, 7–11)
Tom Jarvis – Maciej Kubik 3–1 (11–8, 11–13, 11–5, 11–8)
Ricardo Walther – Liam Pitchford 1–3 (6–11, 12–14, 12–10, 5–11)
Apolonia/Hippler – Kubik/Allegro 2–3 (12–14, 5–11, 12–10, 11–2, 9–11)

1. FC Saarbrücken TT – TSV Bad Königshofen 3–1
Hugo Calderano – Andre Bertelsmeier 3–0 (11–6, 11–5, 11–9)
Eduard Ionescu – Daniel Habesohn 3–2 (7–11, 11–6, 7–11, 11–4, 11–5)
Patrick Franziska – Bastian Steger 2–3 (9–11, 9–11, 11–5, 11–2, 8–11)
Hugo Calderano – Daniel Habesohn 3–0 (11–3, 11–5, 11–5)

Sunday, 27 September:
14:00: Borussia Düsseldorf – Borussia Dortmund

Friday, 23 October:
19:00: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – Post SV Mühlhausen

Saturday, 24 October:
19:00: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen

Monday, 2 November:
19:00: TTC OE Clarity-Tel.Syst.Bad Homburg – SV Werder Bremen

All matches are streamed live on Dyn.

Picture: Hugo Calderano of 1. FC Saarbrücken TT (photo: BeLa Sportfoto).