Bad Königshofen advances to the cup quarter-finals
TSV Bad Königshofen and Post SV Mühlhausen met in the first round of 16 of the German Table Tennis Cup. The two teams had already faced each other two weeks ago in the league, where the team from Lower Franconia recorded a clear 3:0 victory. The hosts prevailed again this time and thus remain unbeaten in their third match of the current season.
Both teams decided to change their line-ups for the second encounter within a very short space of time. TSV Bad Königshofen swapped Bastian Steger and Jin Ueda, while Irvin Bertrand and Ovidiu Ionescu switched positions at Post SV Mühlhausen. Despite these changes, the new line-ups curiously led to exactly the same encounters as in the last league match, giving the players familiar duels.
Jin Ueda played the opening singles match against Irvin Bertrand, and the Japanese player seamlessly continued his strong performance from their last encounter. Although Bertrand put up strong resistance in the first two sets, Ueda showed his mental strength in the decisive moments, fending off two set points and taking a 2:0 lead. The third set then went clearly to Ueda, who put Bertrand in his place with 11:4. With this smooth 3:0, he secured the first point for his team and put Mühlhausen under pressure early on.
Mengel forces the equalizer
Filip Zeljko and Steffen Mengel met in the second singles match of the evening. Mengel, who had lost 3:1 to Zeljko in the Bundesliga, was in top form this time. After Zeljko won the first set 11:9, Mengel fought back impressively and won the second and third sets (5:11, 9:11). However, the Croatian was not deterred and equalized in the fourth set (11:6). The deciding set was almost unbeatable in terms of suspense right from the start. After Zeljko took a 5:4 lead at the change of ends, Mühlhausen's coach Erik Schreyer took an important timeout, which put Mengel back on the winning track. The 36-year-old finally converted his second match point after serving and hitting a parallel forehand flip to make it 11:9.
Experienced and composed: Steger gives Ionescu no chance
The third match was the encounter between veteran Bastian Steger, who is already playing his 25th Bundesliga season this year, and Romanian Ovidiu Ionescu. The result from the league was repeated here too: Steger dominated the match from the start and hardly gave Ionescu any opportunities to develop. Steger prevailed 3:0 (11:6, 11:7, 11:9) and put his team ahead once again.
The last match of the evening was another brilliant performance by Jin Ueda, who won 3:0 against Steffen Mengel. Although Mengel had shown an impressive performance in his first match, he was unable to find a suitable means against Ueda. Ueda thus put the decisive finishing touch to a successful cup evening for TSV Bad Königshofen.
Reactions from the players: Disappointment for Mühlhausen, relief for Ueda
Steffen Mengel summed things up shortly after the end of the game: “Of course we're disappointed that we lost here. But Bad Königshofen also put in a good performance. However, we also have to be honest with ourselves. We've now had three games this season and have put in an indiscreet performance three times. [...] We now have to get back on track quickly, otherwise it will be a very difficult season for us.”
Match winner Jin Ueda, on the other hand, was visibly relieved: “I'm very happy to have won. I adjusted my tactics and worked more on my serve in the run-up to the match. That paid off today.”
In addition to the exciting cup round of 16 match between TSV Bad Königshofen and Post SV Mühlhausen, there are more top-class round of 16 matches to come in the coming days and weeks.
Overview of the cup round of 16
TSV Bad Königshofen – Post SV Mühlhausen 3:1
Jin Ueda - Irvin Bertrand 3:0 (12:10, 11:9, 11:4)
Filip Zeljko - Steffen Mengel 2:3 (11:9, 5:11, 9:11, 11:6, 9:11)
Bastian Steger - Ovidiu Ionescu 3:0 (11:6, 11:7, 11:9)
Jin Ueda - Steffen Mengel 3:0 (11:9, 11:6, 11:7)
Monday, September 09th
7 p.m.: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – ASC Grünwettersbach
Tuesday, September 10th
19 Uhr: 1. FC Köln – TTC Fortuna Passau
Monday, September 16th
8 p.m.: 1. FSV Mainz 05 – SV Werder Bremen
Wednesday, September 18th
7 p.m.: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
Wednesday, September 18th
7.30 p.m.: 1. FC Saarbrücken TT – Borussia Dortmund
Friday, September 20th
7.30 p.m.: TTV Lampertheim – TTC OE Bad Homburg
Saturday, September 21st
7 p.m.: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – Borussia Düsseldorf
All TTBL and German Table Tennis Cup matches are broadcast live and on demand on Dyn.
Featured image above: Bastian Steger from TSV Bad Königshofen (Photo: Rudi Dümpert)