Bundesliga

Post SV Mühlhausen secured two vital points in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) with a 3–0 victory over TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell. In front of their home crowd, the Thuringians laid the foundations for victory with two hard-fought wins from Steffen Mengel and Ovidiu Ionescu. Marcos Freitas then sealed the first home win.

Steffen Mengel put the hosts ahead in the opening singles match against Jonathan Groth. After the Mühlhausen player had taken the first set, the second set proved to be a pivotal phase of the match. Despite falling behind at one stage, Mengel kept his nerve and narrowly secured the set. Groth then fought back, but Mengel held on to his lead and clinched the first point for Mühlhausen.

Ionescu maintains control in the deciding set

Ovidiu Ionescu took the next crucial step in his clash with Dimitrij Ovtcharov. The Romanian got off to the better start and won the first set comfortably. Ovtcharov, however, stepped up his game and levelled the match. The match remained closely contested as it progressed: Ionescu took the lead once more before the Fulda player forced a deciding set. There, the Mühlhausen player got off to a dream start, pulled away early and didn’t let Ovtcharov back into the match. With his 3–2 victory, Ionescu extended his team’s lead to 2–0.

Freitas seals the home victory

Marcos Freitas put the finishing touch to the match in the clash between the two left-handers against Fanbo Meng. The Portuguese player initially dictated the play and built up a clear lead. As the match progressed, Meng put up a better fight, but Freitas remained in control even during the tighter phases of the second and third sets. With two narrow set wins, he sealed the 3–0 victory and thus secured Mühlhausen’s home win.

Mühlhausen confirms upward trend

For Post SV, this victory is also significant in the context of their season so far. After three defeats at the start of the season, the Thuringians had recently found increasing stability and had already demonstrated their quality in a 3–2 away win at Bergneustadt. There, Ionescu and Freitas in particular impressed with a convincing victory in the doubles. Against Fulda, Mühlhausen put in a united performance in the singles, giving Fulda no chance to turn the match around.

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell were unable to convert their previously balanced singles record into points this time round. The team from eastern Hesse had experienced several close matches in recent weeks, but had often only been defeated in the decisive doubles match. In Mühlhausen, they were denied this opportunity: after three singles matches, defeat was a foregone conclusion.

Werder host Dortmund on Wednesday

The next TTBL fixture is already scheduled for Wednesday. SV Werder Bremen will host Borussia Dortmund at 7 pm. Both teams are keen to pick up vital points as the season progresses.

An overview of Matchday 7

Post SV Mühlhausen – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell 3:0
Steffen Mengel – Jonathan Groth 3:1 (11:7, 12:10, 6:11, 11:7)
Ovidiu Ionescu – Dimitrij Ovtcharov 3:2 (11:3, 8:11, 11:4, 6:11, 11:3)
Marcos Freitas – Fanbo Meng 3:0 (11:4, 11:9, 11:9)

TSV Bad Königshofen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt 1:3
Bastian Steger – Benedikt Duda 0:3 (9:11, 7:11, 6:11)
Filip Zeljko – Romain Ruiz 3:0 (11:2, 11:7, 11:8)
Andre Bertelsmeier – Cedric Meissner 1:3 (12:10, 15:17, 8:11, 7:11)
Bastian Steger – Romain Ruiz 1:3 (9:11, 10:12, 11:9, 7:11)

ASC Grünwettersbach – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT 1:3
Tom Jarvis – Hugo Calderano 0:3 (10:12, 9:11, 7:11)
Florian Bluhm – Eduard Ionescu 3:2 (11:6, 3:11, 4:11, 11:9, 11:8)
Tobias Hippler – Alvaro Robles 1:3 (6:11, 11:9, 8:11, 9:11)
Tom Jarvis – Eduard Ionescu 2:3 (7:11, 11:9, 11:4, 8:11, 8:11)

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg 1:3
Iulian Chirita – Finn Luu 3:0 (11:3, 11:7, 11:7)
Bogdan Pugna – Csaba Andras 0:3 (2:11, 5:11, 3:11)
Daniel Berzosa – Juan Perez 1:3 (11:13, 11:7, 8:11, 7:11)
Iulian Chirita – Csaba Andras 1:3 (4:11, 12:10, 9:11, 5:11)

TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – Borussia Düsseldorf 2:3
Feng Yi-Hsin – Li Yongyin 3:0 (11:7, 12:10, 11:6)
Samuel Walker – Kanak Jha 0:3 (3:11, 8:11, 6:11)
Liam Pitchford – Anton Källberg 3:0 (11:7, 12:10, 14:12)
Feng Yi-Hsin – Kanak Jha 2:3 (11:9, 18:16, 6:11, 6:11, 6:11)
Maciej Kubik/Martin Allegro – Anton Källberg/Li Yongyin 1:3 (11:7, 7:11, 8:11, 6:11)

Wednesday, 11 November
19 Uhr: SV Werder Bremen – Borussia Dortmund

All matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.
You can find the current Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) table here.

Header photo: Ovidiu Ionescu of Post SV Mühlhausen (Photo: BeLaSportfoto).