Bremen ends losing streak in Ochsenhausen

SV Werder Bremen have celebrated their first win of the new year: After four defeats in a row, Mattias Falck and Co. won 3:1 at TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen at the end of the 15th matchday of the German Table Tennis League (TTBL) and thus put themselves back within reach of the play-off places.

SV Werder Bremen had recently failed to win four times in a row and thus squandered a better starting position in the battle for the play-offs in the German Table Tennis League (TTBL). The Hanseatic club recently dropped from third place at the end of the first half of the season to eighth. On Sunday afternoon, there was now a sign of life: With the 3:1 victory at TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen at the end of the 15th matchday, the Bremen team not only celebrated its first win since mid-December, but also got back into the play-off race. With 14:14 points, Werder are now in sixth place and only just behind fourth-placed TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau (14:12).

"The Bundesliga is incredibly tight again this season," said Bremen's Mattias Falck on the Dyn microphone after the game, when asked about Werder's chances of making the play-offs. "Six teams are still fighting for two open spots. We still have some tough games ahead of us and will continue to work hard to get the best possible result." One of these teams is Ochsenhausen, who have dropped to eighth place with 12:16 points after their third defeat in a row. "I can hardly describe how we feel," said Ochsenhausen's Alvaro Robles. "The situation is incredibly difficult, we just can't get our act together at the moment. It hurts a lot."

Gerassimenko gets the break, Falck follows up

The opening single was decisive for the rest of the match on Sunday. Kirill Gerassimenko confirmed his improving form - he had recently secured his first win of the second round against Mühlhausen's Steffen Mengel - and got the break for the visitors with a 3:2 (11:8, 7:11, 12:10, 2:11, 13:11) win against Simon Gauzy. As Mattias Falck had no major problems with Samuel Kulczycki in his 3:0 (11:6, 11:8, 11:7) win, Bremen went into the break with a 2:0 lead. After this, Marcelo Aguirre fought his way back against Alvaro Robles after trailing 0:2 in sets and allowed Werder to dream of an outright victory. However, Robles kept his nerve and reduced the deficit to 1:2 for Ochsenhausen with his 3:2 (11:7, 13:11, 9:11, 8:11, 11:4). The TTF's hopes were short-lived, however, as Falck won the top singles match against Gauzy 3:0 (11:4, 11:9, 11:9). It was Gauzy's third and fourth defeat in singles this season on Sunday and the Frenchman now has a 12:4 record.

1.FC Saarbrücken TT and Borussia Düsseldorf had already demonstrated their leading role in the German Table Tennis League on Friday. Saarbrücken defended their lead in the table with a 3:0 win against TSV Bad Königshofen; Düsseldorf won 3:0 against Post SV Mühlhausen at the same time. ASV Grünwettersbach celebrated important successes in the relegation battle on Saturday with a 3-2 win against TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt and 1. FSV Mainz 05 won 3-2 against TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell. The TTBL will now take a short break due to the Team World Championship, which will take place in Busan (South Korea) from February 16 to 25. The 16th matchday starts on Tuesday, February 27, with the match between TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau and TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen.

Overview of the 15th matchday

1. FC Saarbrücken TT – TSV Bad Königshofen 3:0
Darko Jorgic – Filip Zeljko 3:2 (7:11, 4:11, 13:11, 13:11, 11:8)
Eduard Ionescu – Jin Ueda 3:2 (11:9, 8:11, 7:11, 11:4, 11:4)
Patrick Franziska – Martin Allegro 3:0 (11:8, 11:9, 11:7) 

Borussia Düsseldorf – Post SV Mühlhausen 3:0
Anton Källberg – Irvin Bertrand 3:1 (11:7, 6:11, 11:7, 11:9)
Kay Stumper – Ovidiu Ionescu 3:1 (11:4, 11:9, 10:12, 11:6)
Timo Boll – Steffen Mengel 3:2 (10:12, 12:10, 9:11, 11:7, 11:6) 

ASV Grünwettersbach – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt 3:2
Tiago Apolonia – Benedikt Duda 3:1 (9:11, 11:7, 11:7, 12:10)
Deni Kozul – Romain Ruiz 2:3 (18:16, 10:12, 7:11, 11:6, 10:12)
Ricardo Walther – Adrien Rassenfosse 3:0 (11:4, 12:10, 11:5)
Tiago Apolonia – Romain Ruiz 0:3 (9:11, 10:12, 7:11)
Kozul/Walther – Rassenfosse/Duda 3:0 (11:4, 11:7, 11:5)

1. FSV Mainz 05 – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell 3:2
Rares Sipos – Fanbo Meng 3:2 (7:11, 16:14, 4:11, 11:9, 11:8)
Luka Mladenovic – Chuang Chih-Yuan 3:1 (11:7, 9:11, 11:6, 13:11)
Carlo Rossi – Ruwen Filus 2:3 (11:7, 7:11, 7:11, 11:9, 9:11)
Rares Sipos – Chuang Chih-Yuan 2:3 (10:12, 11:5, 11:8, 10:12, 13:15)
Mladenovic/Rossi – Filus/Meng 3:2 (11:8, 3:11, 11:8, 5:11, 11:8)

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – SV Werder Bremen 1:3
Simon Gauzy – Kirill Gerassimenko 2:3 (8:11, 11:7, 10:12, 11:2, 11:13)
Samuel Kulczycki – Mattias Falck 0:3 (6:11, 8:11, 7:11)
Alvaro Robles – Marcelo Aguirre 3:2 (11:7, 13:11, 9:11, 8:11, 11:4)
Simon Gauzy – Mattias Falck 0:3 (4:11, 9:11, 9:11)