Bundesliga

To open Matchday 8, Borussia Dortmund took an important step toward TTBL safety. Against direct rivals TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau, Dortmund won 3–1, with Kristian Karlsson delivering two points.

The magnitude of the result was palpable immediately after the match. Karlsson, the man of the evening, capped his decisive win over Grenzau’s top player Feng Yi-Hsin with a cathartic roar — a balm for Dortmund’s relegation worries. Moments earlier, everything had pointed to a deciding doubles: the Swede trailed 1–2 and had long struggled with Feng’s serve. But Karlsson dug in, repeatedly landing precise backhand blocks, and took the final two games 11–8, 11–8. With their first home win of the season, the Westphalians earned a vital boost in the survival fight.

Nuytinck again out of luck against Feng

Karlsson had set the tone earlier in the evening: despite dropping a game to Luka Mladenovic, he rarely looked troubled and handled the Luxembourger’s anti-spin rubber well. Grenzau’s lone point came in a clash of concern and hope: Dortmund’s Cédric Nuytinck is still winless this season, while Feng is Grenzau’s only player with a positive record. That trend continued with the Taiwanese star’s 3–1 victory on Friday. In the meeting of the No. 3s, Adam Szudi also won 3–1 against Maciej Kubik, putting teammate Karlsson in position to close it out.

Grenzau facing relegation worries

For BVB, who climbed to ninth for the moment, the pressure eases slightly. For the visitors, the picture is bleaker: Grenzau are still waiting for their first away win, have only two victories from eight matches, and could be two points adrift of safety within days. The remaining five fixtures of the round are set for the weekend — including TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell vs. TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen (Saturday, 6 p.m.) and the chasers’ clash Borussia Düsseldorf vs. TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt (Sunday, 12 p.m.). All TTBL matches are live on Dyn.

Matchday 8 at a glance

Borussia Dortmund – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 3–1
Kristian Karlsson – Luka Mladenovic 3–1 (11:7, 11:4, 6:11, 11:4)
Cédric 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)

Saturday, 15 November:
5:30 p.m.: TSV Bad Königshofen – Post SV Mühlhausen
6 p.m.: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen

Sunday, 16 November:
12 p.m.: Borussia Düsseldorf – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
1 p.m.: ASC Grünwettersbach – SV Werder Bremen
3:30 p.m.: 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg

Header image: Adam Szudi of Borussia Dortmund (Photo: Ulrich Höfer).