Exciting match: Dortmund loses to Grünwettersbach
The clash between newly promoted BV Borussia 09 Dortmund and ASC Grünwettersbach in the German Table Tennis League (TTBL) promised excitement right from the start - and it kept that promise until the very last rally. Borussia Dortmund's Yongyin Li in particular stood out once again and was in impressive form, but in the end it was not enough for his team to win. Grünwettersbach showed nerves of steel and prevailed after an intense five-set doubles match.
The match kicked off with a thrilling duel between Yongyin Li and Guilherme Teodoro. Li got off to the better start and won the first set 13:11 after fending off two set points. Li then continued his performance seamlessly and secured a comfortable 2:0 lead with an 11:8 victory. But Teodoro did not give up: The Brazilian played more cleverly in the third set, taking advantage of small mistakes by Li and taking the set 11:9. However, Li was not deterred by this and finally won the match with a commanding 11:6.
Apolonia equalizes, Walther follows up
In the second game, Danish international Anders Lind (BVB) faced veteran Tiago Apolonia (ASC). Apolonia started the match with some difficulties, but was able to adapt better and better to Lind's style of play as the match progressed. After losing the first set, the Portuguese left nothing to chance and equalized the match (14:12, 9:11, 7:11, 8:11).
Cedric Nuytinck then had no chance against a strong Ricardo Walther. The German dominated the match right from the start and barely allowed Nuytinck to get into the game. With his offensive style and quick points, Walther clearly secured the sets and put Grünwettersbach back in the lead.
Li provides hope again
Borussia Dortmund then again relied on Yongyin Li, who this time faced Tiago Apolonia. Li once again put in an impressive performance and hardly gave the experienced Portuguese player a chance (16:14, 11:4, 11:9).
The match then came down to the wire in the decisive doubles match. Anders Lind and Cedric Nuytinck lined up for Dortmund, while Grünwettersbach fielded Guilherme Teodoro and Ricardo Walther. Borussia got off to a strong start and took the first two sets by the narrow margin of 11:9, but Teodoro and Walther fought their way back into the match. With a strong comeback in the third set (11:3), they brought the doubles back on level terms and forced a decisive fifth set. A nerve-wracking back-and-forth ensued in which both sides had chances. In the end, however, Teodoro and Walther kept the upper hand with 11:9 and secured a narrow 3:2 overall victory for their team.
It was a bitter defeat for BVB, who had justified their hopes of a second win of the season after Yongyin Li's strong performance. But in the end, they lacked that last bit of luck. Grünwettersbach, on the other hand, picked up important points and left the penultimate place in the table for the time being.
Click here for the current table: https://www.ttbl.de/bundesliga/table
Overview of matchday 3
BV Borussia 09 Dortmund - ASC Grünwettersbach 2:3
Li Yongyin - Guilherme Teodoro 3:1 (13:11, 11:8, 9:11, 11:6)
Anders Lind - Tiago Apolonia 1:3 (14:12, 9:11, 7:11, 8:11)
Cedric Nuytinck – Ricardo Walther 0:3 (5:11, 8:11, 9:11)
Li Yongyin - Tiago Apolonia 3:0 (16:14, 11:4, 11:9)
Anders Lind / Cedric Nuytinck - Guilherme Teodoro / Ricardo Walther 2:3 (11:9, 11:9, 3:11, 9:11, 9:11)
TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TSV Bad Königshofen 3:1
Dimitrij Ovtcharov - Filip Zeljko 3:1 (12:10, 12:14, 11:4, 11:7)
Fanbo Meng - Bastian Steger 3:2 (4:11, 11:9, 11:7, 9:11, 5:11)
Ruwen Filus - Jin Ueda 2:3 (11:7, 6:11, 11:7, 3:11, 8:11)
Dimitrij Ovtcharov - Bastian Steger 3:0 (11:6, 11:7, 11:5)
1. FC Saarbrücken TT – SV Werder Bremen 2:3
Patrick Franziska – Marcelo Aguirre 2:3 (11:8, 5:11, 9:11, 11:7, 8:11)
Wang Lichen – Kirill Gerassimenko 1:3 (4:11, 10:12, 11:6, 9:11)
Darko Jorgic – Mattias Falck 3:1 (11:8, 8:11, 12:10, 11:8)
Patrick Franziska – Kirill Gerassimenko 3:0 (11:9, 11:8, 11:5)
Wang Lichen/Darko Jorgic – Mattias Falck/Marcelo Aguirre 1:3 (10:12, 11:5, 9:11, 8:11)
Borussia Düsseldorf – TTC OE Bad Homburg 3:0
Dang Qiu - Csaba Andras 3:2 (11:8, 13:15, 11:5, 8:11, 11:8)
Kay Stumper - Yuma Tsuboi 3:1 (11:8, 8:11, 11:7, 11:7)
Anton Källberg - Kristian Karlsson 3:1 (11:5, 12:14, 11:5, 11:3)
Monday, 16. September
19 Uhr: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt - Post SV Mühlhausen
Monday, 23. September
19 Uhr: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen - TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau
All Bundesliga table tennis matches live and on demand on Dyn.
Featured image above: Ricardo Walther from ASC Grünwettersbach (Photo: BeLa Sportfoto)