Cup quarter-finals: Ochsenhausen completes the cup final four
The cup quarter-final round has come to an end. With an impressive 3:0 victory over TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau, TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen secured the last place in the final four. Borussia Düsseldorf, 1. FC Saarbrücken and ASV Grünwettersbach had already secured their tickets for the final four.
The clash began with a surprising personnel matter: the hosts' number one, Yi-Hsin Feng from Grenzau, is currently at a qualifying tournament for the national team in Taiwan and was not available for the Westerwald team. He was replaced by Australian Xavier Dixon, who is currently ranked 80th in the world.
Gauzy and Calderano lay the foundations
Maciej Kubik (Grenzau) and Simon Gauzy (Ochsenhausen) faced each other in the first singles match. Gauzy dominated the action right from the start, with precise attacks and an impressive overview of the game. Kubik visibly struggled to get into the match. In three straight sets (8:11, 7:11, 7:11), Gauzy laid the foundation for Ochsenhausen's success.
In the second match, Australian Xavier Dixon entered the box to take on Hugo Calderano, the current world number five from Brazil. Calderano put in a strong performance right from the start and gave Dixon little room to develop. Only the second set was closely contested. However, Dixon was unable to hold on to a 6:3 lead. Calderano's 3:0 win (5:11, 9:11, 5:11) gave the visitors from Ochsenhausen a 2:0 lead.
Robles with a dominant performance
Samuel Walker and Alvaro Robles contested the third singles match. Although Walker left no stone unturned, Robles proved too strong for the 28-year-old Englishman on this evening. With a dominant 3:0 (11:1, 11:6, 11:4), the Spaniard set the final point and secured Ochsenhausen a well-deserved place in the final four.
After the game, Gauzy was visibly relieved to reach the final four: "We were very focused today because we knew that we had already lost to Grenzau once last year. But now we're very happy after the win."
A thrilling evening in the Zugbrückenhalle in Grenzau ended with a commanding 3:0 victory for the guests from TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen, who were the last team to advance to the final four of the table tennis cup competition.
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Overview of the cup quarter-finals
TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 0:3
Maciej Kubik – Simon Gauzy 0:3(8:11, 7:11, 7:11)
Xavier Dixon – Hugo Calderano 03: (5:11, 9:11, 5:11)
Samuel Walker – Alvaro Robles 0:3 (1:11, 6:11, 4:11)
Borussia Düsseldorf – TSV Bad Königshofen 3:0
Anton Källberg – Martin Allegro 3:0 (11:6, 11:7, 11:9)
Timo Boll – Bastian Steger 3:0 (11:7, 11:7, 11:6)
Dang Qiu – Filip Zeljko 3:1 (11:9, 2:11, 11:5, 11:2)
ASV Grünwettersbach – Post SV Mühlhausen 3:0
Tiago Apolonia – Daniel Habesohn 3:1 (12:10, 11:8, 10:12, 11:6)
Ricardo Walter – Steffen Mengel 3:1 (11:8, 11:4, 8:11, 12:10)
Dani Kozul – Ovidiu Ionescu 3:2 (11:9, 6:11, 8:11, 11:6, 11:9)
1. FC Saarbrücken TT – SV Werder Bremen 3:0
Darko Jorgic - Marcelo Aguirre 3:1 (11:9, 4:11, 11:8, 11:5)
Patrick Franziska - Mattias Falck 3:1 (15:13, 11:4, 8:11, 11:6)
Yuto Muramatsu - Kirill Gerassimenko 3:1 (5:11, 11:9, 11:6, 11:3)
All TTBL matches will be broadcast live and on demand on Dyn.
Featured image above: Simon Gauzy (TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen) (Photo: Nicolai Schaal)