1. Matchday: Bremen starts the season with a win at home
The long awaited time of waiting has come to an end: The Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) is back from the summer break and promises again thrilling duels, stirring emotions and breathtaking table tennis. In a thrilling opening match of the first matchday between SV Werder Bremen and 1. FSV Mainz 05, the green and white from Bremen were able to win 3:0 against the youngstars from Mainz.
It was already clear before the start of the match that it would not be an easy task for the 1st FSV Mainz 05 team. The SV Werder Bremen team fielded Mattias Falck, the player with the best record of the previous season (28:8). At the start, both teams were welcomed by the fans to rapturous applause in the almost sold-out Klaus-Dieter-Fischer-Halle in Bremen.
Falck withstands pressure - Sipos not rewarded
The match started punctually at 7:00 p.m. with the opening singles between Matthias Falck and Rares Sipos and the first played rally of the 2023/24 season, which Sipos won after a short backhand stroke exchange. However, the first two sets went to the account of the Swede (11:8, 12:10), but he could not keep up his performance in the third and lost it 6:11. Sipos continued to fight and forced Falck into the extra time of the fourth set. There, Falck withstood the pressure and finally prevailed against his strongly playing opponent with 13:11.
Bad luck with injuries at Mainz
In the second singles match of the evening, the Mainzers continued to play undeterred despite their opening defeat. The reward for the courageous performance followed directly in the first round, when newcomer Li Yongyin started the match with an 11:9 set win against Marcelo Aguirre. Aguirre acted visibly more confident in the coming rallies and continued to put pressure on Li Yongyin, who suffered a thigh injury in the course of the third set. A medical timout of the Chinese-born player at 0:3 of the fourth set did not bring the hoped-for improvement. Although Li Yongyin returned to the table again, he quickly had to admit that he could not continue playing due to the pain.
Gerassimenko with routine performance against Rossi
After the break Kirill Gerassimenko and Carlo Rossi faced each other in the Bremen center court. With a 2:0 lead behind him, Gerassimenko was able to play with enough confidence against his younger opponent from Mainz. From the beginning, both players played gripping rallies and offered the spectators a strong match. In the end, however, Rossi could not prevail against the routine of the 26-year-old Kazakh (11:4, 11:8, 11:9). The third singles match ended 3:0 and that was also the result of the evening from the Bremen point of view.
Even though the match ended with a clear 3:0 in favor of SV Werder Bremen, the young Mainz team left a good impression and confirmed that they are not to be underestimated.
The Bremen team was able to prove their playing strength and can go with a lot of self-confidence for the next match on August 29 against TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell.
1. Matchday - Overview
SV Werder Bremen – 1. FSV Mainz 05 3:0
Matthias Falck - Rares Sipos 3:1 (11:8, 12:10, 6:11, 13:11)
Marcelo Aguirre - Li Yongyin 3:1 (9:11, 11:6, 11:7, 11:1)
Kirill Gerassimenko - Carlo Rossi 3:0 (11:4, 11:8, 11:9)
Saturday, August 26th
7 p.m.: ASV Grünwettersbach – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
Sunday, August 27th
1 p.m.: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT
4 p.m.: Borussia Düsseldorf – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen
Monday, August 28th
7 p.m.: TSV Bad Königshofen – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau