Borussia Dortmund wins confidently - Grenzau still in a downward spiral
Borussia Dortmund secured an important 3:1 home win against TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau in the German Table Tennis League (TTBL), thus moving further away from the relegation places. While BVB is already celebrating its seventh win of the season in its debut season, Grenzau's crisis continues to worsen. The Westerwald club conceded its tenth defeat in a row and remains bottom of the table with 6:30 points.
The evening began promisingly for the home side. Yongyin Li, who has proved to be a reliable scorer in recent weeks, dictated the game from the outset. Li acted confidently against the young Taiwanese player Yi-Hsin Feng and won the match 3:0 (11:8, 11:5, 11:9).
Mladenovic brings Grenzau back into the game
But Grenzau showed fighting spirit. Luka Mladenovic caught Anders Lind on the wrong foot and played courageously. While Lind showed flashes of his potential at times, Mladenovic had the better answers in the decisive moments. The Luxembourger dominated with clever placements and repeatedly put Lind under pressure with his anti-top surface. After four intense sets, the score was 3:1 for Mladenovic (8:11, 11:8, 7:11, 9:11) - Grenzau was back in the match.
With the score at 1:1, things got really exciting. Simon Berglund and Samuel Walker fought a high-class duel that only found a winner in the deciding set. Berglund made a furious start and secured the first set 11:6, but Walker promptly hit back with 11:7. After a one-sided third set (11:4 for Berglund), Walker again showed comeback qualities and equalized with 11:9. But in the decisive fifth set, Berglund left nothing to chance. With an explosive start, he took an early 7:0 lead and maintained this advantage until the 11:4 final score. This put Dortmund one point ahead again.
Li shines twice
In the last singles match of the evening, Yongyin Li had the chance to claim his second win of the day and finally put BVB on the road to victory. The left-hander was well prepared against his former teammate Luka Mladenovic and won 3:0 (11:3, 11:3, 11:6), just like in the first leg.
Dortmund with a positive form curve - Grenzau needs a turnaround
With this success, BVB underlines its rising form curve in its debut season in the TTBL. Dortmund is currently in ninth place in the table with 14:22 points and is keeping the relegation places at bay. For TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau, on the other hand, the situation is becoming increasingly precarious: with 6:30 points, the team remains in last place. If there is no turnaround in the coming weeks, the traditional club is in danger of losing its place for good.
Click here for the current table: https://www.ttbl.de/bundesliga/table/
Overview of the 18th matchday
Borussia Dortmund – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 3:1
Yongyin Li - Yi-Hsin Feng 3:0 (11:8, 11;5, 11:9)
Anders Lind - Luka Mladenovic 1:3 (8:11, 11:8 , 7:11, 9:11)
Simon Berglund - Samuel Walker 3:2 (11:6, 7.11, 11:4, 9:11, 11:4)
Yongyin Li - Luka Mladenovic 3:0 (11:3, 11:3, 11:6)
Tuesday, 25. Februar
18.30: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT
19.00: ASC Grünwettersbach – Borussia Düsseldorf
Wednesday, 26. Februar
19 Uhr: Post SV Mühlhausen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
Thursday, 27. Februar
19.00: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TSV Bad Königshofen
19.00: SV Werder Bremen – TTC OE Bad Homburg
All matches will be broadcast live and on demand on Dyn.
Featured image above: Yongyin Li from Borussia Dortmund (Photo: BVB)