22nd Matchday: Mühlhausen and Ochsenhausen in long-distance duel for third place

The last decision in the main round of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) is coming up: Post SV Mühlhausen (in Bad Königshofen) and TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen (against Saarbrücken) will fight for third place in a long-distance duel on Sunday. Afterwards, the play-off matches are set and the battle for a place in the Liebherr TTBL final begins.

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – Borussia Düsseldorf

Last year, the two teams met in the play-offs, but in the current season they are worlds apart in the standings. While Borussia Düsseldorf has once again made it to the semifinals as the main round winner, TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell is only in eleventh place - and could even drop to last place if it loses. "Sunday feels like the start of the play-offs for us," says Borussia manager Andreas Preuß, announcing that he will take the match very seriously. "The team has not been together for a few weeks, so the match now serves as a joint preparation. We definitely want to win and then go into the semifinals with good confidence."

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT

A foretaste of the play-offs will be given on Sunday by TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen, who will host 1. FC Saarbrücken TT. After all, both teams already have the qualification for the semifinals in the bag. But not only that: it is possible that the two teams will see each other exactly there again and fight against each other for a place in the Liebherr TTBL final - namely if Ochsenhausen wins on Sunday or Mühlhausen loses in the parallel match in Bad Königshofen. "Saarbrücken is of course a formidable opponent, even though I can't imagine that they will field all their top players on Sunday," said TTF President Kristijan Pejinovic. "With the fans behind us, we want to put in a top performance and beat Saarbrücken." The first leg, however, had gone to the FCS, in December Darko Jorgic and Patrick Franziska led the reigning runners-up to victory.

TSV Bad Königshofen – Post SV Mühlhausen

Post season SV Mühlhausen already finished in third place, and the Thuringians now have the chance to repeat this success and thus the best ranking in the club's history in the main round finals of the current season. The prerequisites for this are a success at TSV Bad Königshofen and a simultaneous defeat of Ochsenhausen in the parallel match. If Mühlhausen manages to finish third, the semi-final would also be a case of déjà vu. In that case, Post SV would face Saarbrücken in the play-offs, which they had already played last year (0:3, 0:3). Otherwise, the opponent would be Borussia Düsseldorf. Bad Königshofen would finish the season in sixth place in the table if they were successful and would also have achieved the best result in the club's history. The first leg was won 3:2 by the team from Lower Franconia.

SV Werder Bremen – ASV Grünwettersbach

Much will revolve around Mattias Falck on Sunday, and not only in sporting terms. The double world champion from Sweden will be honored twice before SV Werder Bremen's final game of the season, receiving the Bremen Senate Medal and the honor of being named Bremen's 2022 Sportsman of the Year. Falck is then expected to lead the Bremen team to its tenth win of the season: "We definitely want to say goodbye to the summer break with a home win in our own hall and a positive feeling," says Werder team manager Sascha Greber. The first leg, however, had gone to ASV Grünwettersbach: Two singles wins by Wang Xi and the success in doubles by Tiago Apolonia and Ricardo Walther had brought the 3:2 for the Badeners in November, who with another success would end the season in fifth place and thus with the second-best ranking in the club's history.

TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – TTC Neu-Ulm

For TTC Neu-Ulm, it's time to say goodbye on Sunday: The cup winner will play its last match in the TTBL and, as is well known, will only compete in the Champions League next season. With the TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau, however, a tough nut awaits Lev Katsman, Maksim Grebnev and Vladimir Sidorenko. Like Neu-Ulm, the team from the Westerwald has 18:24 points on its account and, above all, is playing a very strong second half of the season with six victories already. However, Grenzau will not be at its best on Sunday, as Feng Yi-Hsin cannot be there due to a scheduling conflict. "We are looking forward to performing in front of our home fans once again at the end of a great season and to close the season in the Zugbrückenhalle," said Grenzau manager Markus Ströher. "Nine wins and ninth place in the table are a very strong record for our team, which deserves to see it off once again with a lot of support from the stands into the summer break."

1. FSV Mainz 05 – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt

1.FSV Mainz 05 can look back on a remarkable series - the Rheinhessen side has finally strung together four home victories, beating Neu-Ulm, Mühlhausen, Bad Königshofen and Fulda. A further, fifth success could even give Mainz another reason to celebrate: If Fulda loses to Düsseldorf in the parallel match, FSV would end the season in eleventh place in the table. TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt even has a chance to finish eighth in the season finale if things go well. The first leg also marked the TTBL debut of the Mainz team. Last August, Bergneustadt beat FSV 3:1.

Overview of the 22nd matchday

Sunday, April 30
3 p.m.: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell - Borussia Düsseldorf
3 p.m.: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen - 1. FC Saarbrücken TT
3 p.m.: TSV Bad Königshofen - Post SV Mühlhausen
3 p.m.: SV Werder Bremen - ASV Grünwettersbach
3 p.m.: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau - TTC Neu-Ulm
3 p.m.: 1. FSV Mainz 05 - TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt