Bundesliga

Former TTBL frontrunners SV Werder Bremen surrendered top spot. A surprisingly clear 0–3 at ASC Grünwettersbach on Sunday marked the Hanseatic club’s second defeat of the season. For the hosts, a battling Tiago Apolonia impressed, while Tobias Hippler celebrated his first TTBL win.

Head coach Cristian Tamas had warned his team. “We’re aware that even as league leaders we can’t just pick up points anywhere. That’s especially true in Grünwettersbach, who have already beaten Borussia Düsseldorf at home this season,” he said before the match. On Sunday, though, it was Kilian Ort’s ASC side that grabbed the headlines.

“The loss by Kirill, when he had three match points, shocked us,” Tamas told Dyn, identifying the day’s turning point. Against Tiago Apolonia, Bremen’s No. 1 should have sent the tie into the interval level. The Portuguese trailed 1–2 in games and was clearly hampered by a knee injury. Roared on by the crowd, Apolonia forced a fifth, saved three match points in a nail-biter and sent the tie into the break with a 2–0 lead. The fans in the ASC Arena honoured the effort with chants for Apolonia.

Hippler gets first TTBL win

Earlier, Hiroto Shinozuka had put the hosts ahead with a commanding 3–0 in an entertaining match against Marcelo Aguirre. In the third singles, Hippler provided the next surprise after Apolonia’s marathon. The left-hander played boldly against former world silver medallist Mattias Falck, earned a 3–1 and sealed his first TTBL victory.

“The first Bundesliga win is something special for everyone. You often hear about players losing their first ten or fifteen matches, and you hope you won’t be in that situation yourself. That’s why I’m glad the topic is now off the table,” Hippler said afterwards.

Bremen relinquished the lead but remain firmly on play-off course with a 12:4 record. Grünwettersbach, still without the injured Ricardo Walther, climb to sixth with an even ledger.

Matchday 8 fixtures

Borussia Dortmund – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 3–1
Kristian Karlsson – Luka Mladenovic 3–1 (11:7, 11:4, 6:11, 11:4)
Cedric Nuytinck – Feng Yi-Hsin 1–3 (8:11, 8:11, 11:6, 4:11)
Adam Szudi – Maciej Kubik 3–1 (11:6, 7:11, 11:2, 11:4)
Kristian Karlsson – Feng Yi-Hsin 3–2 (5:11, 13:11, 5:11, 11:8, 11:8)

Bad Königshofen – Post SV Mühlhausen 1–3
Filip Zeljko – Marcos Freitas 2–3 (9:11, 10:12, 11:7, 11:9, 7:11)
Daniel Habesohn – Kay Stumper 1–3 (12:10, 4:11, 7:11, 8:11)
Bastian Steger – Steffen Mengel 3–2 (8:11, 8:11, 11:9, 11:9, 11:6)
Filip Zeljko – Kay Stumper 0–3 (13:15, 5:11, 3:11)

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 1–3
Jonathan Groth – Andreas Levenko 2–3 (12:10, 6:11, 6:11, 11:8, 5:11)
Fanbo Meng – Iulian Chirita 3–1 (4:11, 11:6, 11:8, 11:9)
Dimitrij Ovtcharov – Shunsuke Togami 1–3 (5:11, 3:11, 11:7, 7:11)
Jonathan Groth – Iulian Chirita 1–3 (9:11, 10:12, 11:8, 12:14)

Borussia Düsseldorf – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt 3–1
Dang Qiu – Romain Ruiz 3–1 (11:8, 11:9, 11:13, 11:5)
Anton Källberg – Benedikt Duda 3–2 (4:11, 7:11, 11:3, 11:6, 11:9)
Kanak Jha – Leo de Nodrest 2–3 (6:11, 11:7, 9:11, 11:4, 9:11)
Dang Qiu – Benedikt Duda 3–1 (11:9, 11:6, 9:11, 11:5)

ASC Grünwettersbach – SV Werder Bremen 3–0
Hiroto Shinozuka – Marcel Aguirre 3–0 (11:5, 11:7, 11:5)
Tiago Apolonia – Kirill Gerassimenko 3–2 (11:6, 6:11, 11:13, 11:9, 12:10)
Tobias Hippler – Mattias Falck 3–1 (11:4, 3:11, 11:9, 12:10)

Sunday, 16 November:
3:30 p.m.: 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg

All Games are broadcast live on Dyn.

Picture: Tiago Apolonia of ASC Grünwettersbach (Photo: Jörg Hirsch)