Borussia Düsseldorf stuns Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier

Seven-time Champions League winners Borussia Düsseldorf took a big step towards the Final Four with a stunning victory over Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier. In a clash between the impressive Félix and Alexis Lebrun, ranked 4th and 14th in the world respectively, last year's runners-up sprung a surprise by sweeping the French team off the court in three games in the first leg of the quarter-final in France.

Anton Källberg set the tone by beating Félix Lebrun in a thrilling five-game match, while Dang Qiu defeated Alexis Lebrun in four games. Timo Boll, who was making his last competitive appearance abroad, sealed the win with a narrow victory against Esteban Dorr.

“A great performance from all of us. We knew how difficult it would be. Montpellier has a very strong team with the Lebrun brothers and Dorr,” said Dang Qiu. “Anton and Timo's matches were both very important. They won narrowly and we know that anything could have happened if we had been forced to play a fourth game. The duel could easily have ended 3:2 for the French team.”

The second leg is scheduled for February 16, with the winner of the first and second leg advancing to the Final Four in Saarbrücken.

Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier – Borussia Düsseldorf 0:3

• Félix Lebrun – Anton Källberg 2-3 (11-8, 11-4, 9-11, 5-11, 5-6)
• Alexis Lebrun – Dang Qiu 1-3 (11-8, 10-12, 7-11, 8-11)
• Esteban Dorr – Timo Boll 2-3 (11-9, 4-11, 11-9, 6-11, 4-6)

Source: ETTU
Featured image above: Dang Qiu (Photo: BeLa Sportfoto)