Bundesliga

Fifth win in five games: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen defeated 1. FC Saarbrücken TT 3-0 on Sunday, remaining undefeated in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL). With a record of 10-0, the five-time German champion sits at the top of the standings.

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen and 1. FC Saarbrücken TT took the court with somewhat unusual lineups on Matchday 5, as several players were competing in international tournaments. The Swabians came out on top: In three hard-fought matches, Ochsenhausen secured a 3-0 victory—and thus remains undefeated in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL). With 10:0 points, TTF moved past Borussia Düsseldorf (8:0) and now sit at the top of the standings. For FCS, it was their second loss of the season, bringing their record to 6:4.

“Congratulations to Ochsenhausen,” said Saarbrücken’s Albert Vilardell into the Dyn microphone after the match. The 24-year-old Spaniard led the Saarbrücken trio on Sunday, alongside Danilo Faso (15) and Samuel Arpas (19). According to the FCS, it was the youngest team the club has ever fielded in the TTBL. “It was a lot of fun playing with this young team,” said Vilardell. “We gave them a close match.”

Daniel Berzosa comes back from a deficit against Danilo Faso

The opening singles match, in particular, was a hard-fought contest: Faso was already leading 2-0 in sets against Daniel Berzosa and seemed poised to give Saarbrücken the lead. Berzosa, however, fought his way back into the match, taking it to a fifth set and winning 14–12. “I was a little nervous at first—after all, it was my first home match. Then, luckily, I stepped up my game,” said Berzosa, who had made his TTBL debut in early September against Andre Bertelsmeier of TSV Bad Königshofen (3–2).

Ochsenhausen also won the next two singles matches: In the fourth set against Vilardell, Tiago Abiodun fended off two set points from the Saarbrücken player and ultimately secured a 3–1 victory. In the third spot, Iulian Chirita defeated Arpas 3–0.

The Table Tennis Bundesliga continues tomorrow, Monday, with two matches: Starting at 6:30 p.m., Borussia Dortmund hosts TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell; at 7:00 p.m., TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau faces off against TSV Bad Königshofen. These two matches, along with all other TTBL matches, will be broadcast live on Dyn.

Match day #5 at a glance

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT 3:0
Daniel Berzosa – Danilo Faso 3:2 (8:11, 8:11, 11:4, 11:4, 14:12)
Tiago Abiodun – Albert Vilardell 3:1 (10:12, 11:6, 12:10, 13:11)
Iulian Chirita – Samuel Arpas 3:0 (11:7, 11:8, 11:7)

SV Werder Bremen – ASC Grünwettersbach 2:3
Mattias Karlsson – Tobias Hippler 1:3 (11:7, 10:12, 7:11, 15:17)
Irvin Bertrand – Ricardo Walther 3:1 (11:7, 11:8, 10:12, 11:1)
Kirill Gerassimenko – Tom Jarvis 3:0 (11:8, 12:10, 11:9)
Mattias Karlsson – Ricardo Walther 1:3 (11:9, 9:11, 11:13, 8:11)
Irvin Bertrand/Kirill Gerassimenko – Tiago Apolonia/Tobias Hippler 1:3 (7:11, 9:11, 11:8, 9:11)

TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg 2:3
Benedikt Duda – Juan Perez 3:0 (11:7, 11:7, 11:1)
Cedric Meissner – Csaba Andras 2:3 (15:13, 11:3, 6:11, 11:5, 8:11)
Romain Ruiz – Finn Luu 3:1 (12:10, 7:11, 11:9, 11:5)
Benedikt Duda – Csaba Andras 0:3 (6:11, 10:12, 9:11)
Cedric Meissner/Adrien Rassenfosse – Benno Oehme/Ivor Ban 2:3 (8:11, 7:11, 11:1, 11:4, 10:12)

Monday, September 21
6:30 p.m.: BV Borussia 09 Dortmund vs. TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
7 p.m.: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau vs. TSV Bad Königshofen

Tuesday, September 22
7 p.m.: Post SV Mühlhausen vs. Borussia Düsseldorf

All matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.

Header image: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen's Iulian Chirita (by Vinzenz Bendel)