Bundesliga

At the close of Matchday 9 in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL), TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt moved back into a play-off spot. A composed 3–1 win over ASC Grünwettersbach kept the Westphalians perfect at home (4/4) and lifted them above Ochsenhausen. Grünwettersbach’s only point came from top man Hiroto Shinozuka.

Bergneustadt had been well aware of the visitors’ threat—after all, ASC had knocked former leaders SV Werder Bremen off top spot just a week ago. “A big relief,” said TTC head coach Frederik Duda on Dyn after the match. It was a fourth home win in four: “If we can keep that going away from home as well, I’ll be very happy.” With the result, Bergneustadt sit fourth near the end of the first half of the season—firmly in play-off territory.

Grünwettersbach, meanwhile, lead the league’s bottom half. On 8:10 points with an even game differential, Killian Ort’s team don’t need to look over their shoulders, but the play-offs are out of immediate reach. Veteran Ricardo Walther is still sidelined, though his return should provide a sporting boost. “We’ve got someone up our sleeve for the second half of the season,” Ort noted.

Duda dominant in the marquee matchup

It unfolded like a classic TTBL tie, as coach Duda put it: Benedikt Duda (3–1 vs. Tobias Hippler) and Hiroto Shinozuka (3–0 vs. Adrien Rassenfosse) traded routine wins to start. “You know the No. 3 match has to land,” said Frederik Duda of Romain Ruiz’s 3–0 over Tiago Apolonia after the break. “Ruiz played really well against Apolonia. Then Bene has to perform in the No. 1 match.”

Benedikt Duda delivered. Facing Grünwettersbach’s in-form leader Shinozuka (now 9–4), the German international offered little and imposed his game throughout. The result: a comfortable 3–0 that lifts Duda (12–4) to second in the TTBL individual standings—only Saarbrücken’s Darko Jorgic (9–0) sits higher.

Matchday 9 fixtures

SV Werder Bremen – Borussia Dortmund 3:0
Kirill Gerassimenko – Alberto Mino 3:2 (11:9, 11:8, 9:11, 6:11, 11:9)
Irvin Bertrand – Adam Szudi 3:0 (11:8, 11:9, 11:7)
Mattias Falck – Cedric Nuytinck 3:2 (8:11, 13:11, 9:11, 11:6, 11:7)

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TSV Bad Königshofen 3:1
Shunsuke Togami – Filip Zeljko 3:0 (11:7, 11:6, 12:10)
Andreas Levenko – Daniel Habesohn 3:1 (11:3, 7:11, 11:5, 11:8)
Tiago Abiodun – Bastian Steger 1:3 (11:9, 7:11, 5:11, 7:11)
Shunsuke Togami – Daniel Habesohn 3:2 (11:5, 11:13, 11:8, 8:11, 11:5)

TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – Borussia Düsseldorf 1:3
Jo Yokotani – Yongyin Li 3:0 (11:9, 11:5, 11:5)
Benno Oehme – Kanak Jha 2:3 (11:4, 11:9, 8:11, 3:11, 4:11)
Juan Perez – Anton Källberg 1:3 (11:8, 6:11, 4:11, 9:11)
Jo Yokotani – Kanak Jha 1:3 (7:11, 5:11, 11:5, 5:11)

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – Post SV Mühlhausen 3:2
Jonathan Groth – Ovidiu Ionescu 3:2 (11:4, 11:9, 13:15, 8:11, 11:9)
Dimitrij Ovtcharov – Steffen Mengel 3:0 (11:9, 11:8, 11:7)
Fanbo Meng – Kay Stumper 2:3 (11:8, 14:16, 7:11, 11:5, 7:11)
Jonathan Groth – Steffen Mengel 1:3 (9:11, 11:9, 9:11, 6:11)
Ovtcharov/Meng – Ionescu/Stumper 3:1 (11:6, 11:7, 9:11, 11:8)

TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT 0:3
Feng Yi-Hsin – Yuto Muramatsu 1:3 (9:11, 11:7, 6:11, 9:11)
Martin Allegro – Patrick Franziska 0:3 (4:11, 3:11, 6:11)
Samuel Walker – Cedric Meissner 0:3 (7:11, 6:11, 4:11)

TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – ASC Grünwettersbach 3:1
Benedikt Duda – Tobias Hippler 3:1 (11:5, 11:6, 12:14, 11:4)
Adrien Rassenfosse – Hiroto Shinozuka 0:3 (5:11, 12:14, 3:11)
Romain Ruiz – Tiago Apolonia 3:0 (11:8, 11:3, 11:5)
Benedikt Duda – Hiroto Shinozuka 3:0 (11:7, 13:11, 11:8)

Picture: Romain Ruiz of TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt (Photo: Ulrich Höfer)