Düsseldorf wins and wins and wins
Borussia Düsseldorf is going from success to success in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL). On matchday 10, the record champions beat 1. FSV Mainz 05 3-1 and remain unbeaten. European champion Dang Qiu impressed with two individual victories.
The roles before the encounter were clearly divided: on the one hand, the still unbeaten Borussia, on the other hand, Mainz, who only had one win this season and were in the south of the table. However, Düsseldorf manager Andreas Preuß didn't want to hear anything about a sure-fire success: “It won't be an Advent walk, Mainz has a good one in Li who can always score. We are more than warned.” And his team, in which coach Danny Heister changed two positions after the Champions League game against Sporting Clube du Portugal on Friday, took this warning to heart.
Dang Qiu can't be beaten
Borgar Haug put the favorites in front thanks to a 3-0 win against Luka Mladenovic, although the Mainz player missed a set point in the first round and was able to keep the game close in the following rounds. European champion Dang Qiu gave the guests a reassuring 2-0 lead against Rares Sipos after a bumpy start before the aforementioned Li brought Mainz back into the game. The 24-year-old beat Anton Källberg 3-1 after being 0-1 down.
However, the hosts' hopes of a surprise were short-lived. Thanks to a safe 3-0 win against Luka Mladenovic, Dang Qiu put the end to an entertaining game and gave the guests their ninth win in the ninth game. Mainz are still stuck in the basement of the table with two points on the credit side.
The voices for the game
Yongyin Li, 1. FSV Mainz 05: “Before the game against Anton, I didn’t think too much about winning or losing, I just tried to play well. Anton is one of the best players in the league, so I'm obviously happy to have won against him today. Next week it's against Fulda. We want to win the game.”
Danny Heister, coach Borussia Düsseldorf: “A very concentrated performance from Dang. But our break was Borgar's victory. We knew that Li was a strong player and that things could get tight again. We are now training until December 22nd, then we are taking a short Christmas break and are looking forward to the top game against Saarbrücken shortly after the festival.”
Top game in Hamburg
On the 11th matchday of the Table Tennis Bundesliga, Borussia Düsseldorf will welcome 1. FC Saarbrücken TT in Hamburg on Wednesday, December 27th. 1. FSV Mainz 05 will play at bottom team TTC Rhönsprudel Fulda-Maberzell on Thursday, December 21st. All TTBL games will be broadcast live on Dyn.
Overview of the 10th matchday
1. FSV Mainz 05 – Borussia Düsseldorf 1:3
Luka Mladenovic – Borgar Haug 0:3 (11:13, 9:11, 8:11)
Rares Sipos – Dang Qiu 1:3 (11:8, 4:11, 8:11, 8:11)
Yongyin Li – Anton Källberg 3:1 (5:11, 11:8, 11:7, 11:7)
Luka Mladenovic – Dang Qui 0:3 (1:11, 5:11, 8:11)
SV Werder Bremen – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT 3:1
Mattias Falck – Cedric Meissner 3:0 (11:8, 11:9, 11:9)
Christian Pletea – Darko Jorgic 0:3 (6:11, 1:11, 7:11)
Kirill Gerassimenko – Cedric Nuytinck 3:0 (11:4, 13:11, 11:9)
Mattias Falck – Darko Jorgic 3:2 (7:11, 11:13, 11:6, 11:5, 11:6)
ASV Grünwettersbach – TSV Bad Königshofen 1:3
Tiago Apolonia – Martin Allegro 2:3 (11:6, 11:2, 10:12, 11:13, 8:11)
Timothy Falconnier – Bastian Steger 1:3 (7:11,11:9, 7:11, 6:11)
Deni Kozul – Filip Zeljko 3:1 (10:12, 11:8, 11:8, 11:8)
Tiago Apolonia – Bastian Steger 2:3 (17:15, 11:6, 9:11, 9:11, 7:11)
TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC Rhönsprudel Fulda-Maberzell 3:0
Simon Gauzy – Wong Chun Ting 3:1 (11:8, 8:11, 11:5, 11:9)
Alvaro Robles – Ruwen Filus 3:0 (11:6, 11:8, 11:7)
Hayate Suzuki – Fanbo Meng 3:1 (5:11, 11:5, 11:9, 11:9)
Montag, 18. Dezember
7 pm: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – Post SV Mühlhausen
All TTBL games will be broadcast live on Dyn.
Header picture: Dang Qui from Borussia Düsseldorf (Photo: Jörg Fuhrmann)