Fulda-Maberzell wins in Bremen - Ovtcharov leads guests to away success
TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell celebrated an important 3:1 away win at SV Werder Bremen on match day 16 of the German Table Tennis League (TTBL). Led by an outstanding Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the visitors secured two valuable points and consolidated their position in the race for the play-offs.
The evening got off to a tense start for the spectators: Mattias Falck, Bremen's number one, faced Fanbo Meng and had to go the full distance. After narrowly losing the first set, the Swede turned the match around with two strong runs. But Meng refused to be shaken off, fought his way into the deciding set and made it exciting once again. Falck had already taken a comfortable 7:0 lead, but Meng fought his way back to 8:8. In the end, a nuance decided the match - with the luckier end for Falck, who put Werder 3:2 (10:12, 11:3, 12:10, 9:11, 11:8) in front.
Fulda turns up the heat - Kao and Ovtcharov unstoppable
Dimitrij Ovtcharov stepped into the box and impressively demonstrated his class against Andrei Putuntica. The former world number one dominated the match at will, only allowing Putuntica to keep up in the first set and ultimately winning 3:0 (13:11, 11:2, 11:8). Fulda was thus back in the match.
Kirill Gerassimenko was also unable to stop the visitors' momentum. Although he put in a strong performance in the second set, Cheng-Jui Kao was more consistent overall. The Taiwanese dictated the pace and hardly gave his opponent any room for his own actions. With a deserved 3:1 (11:7, 5:11, 11:4, 11:6), he put Fulda ahead for the first time.
Ovtcharov decides the top duel
The hopes of the hosts now rested on Mattias Falck, who started again in the fourth singles - this time against Dimitrij Ovtcharov. And the top duel lived up to its promise. Ovtcharov started strongly, but Falck fought back and equalized the score at 1:1. After an intense third set, the Swede seemed to have the momentum on his side. But Ovtcharov remained ice-cold and turned the match around in the decisive moments. He showed particularly strong nerves in the fourth set: trailing 4:9, he won seven points in a row and secured the set. In the final set, he was not to be denied victory again and clinched the overall win 3:2 (8:11, 11:9, 11:6, 9:11, 6:11).
Ovtcharov was satisfied after the match: "Today it was our job to win and take a step towards the play-offs. My feeling for the game and my level are currently pretty good. Unfortunately, the knot often just doesn't burst internationally. I feel all the more comfortable in the Bundesliga and can win games that seemed almost lost. Mattias would also have deserved to win today."
With this away win, Fulda gained revenge for the defeat in the cup game against Bremen and collected important points in the battle for the play-offs. Werder, on the other hand, must put the missed opportunities behind them and look positively to the future.
SV Werder Bremen – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell 1:3
Mattias Falck - Fanbo Meng 3:2 (10:12, 11:3, 12:10, 9:11, 11:8)
Andrei Putuntica - Dimitrij Ovtcharov 0:3 (11:13, 2:11, 8:11)
Kirill Gerassimenko - Cheng-Jui Kao 1:3 (7:11, 11:5, 4:11, 6:11)
Mattias Falck - Dimitrij Ovtcharov 1:3 (8:11, 11:9, 11:6, 9:11, 6:11)
ASC Grünwettersbach – Borussia Dortmund 3:2
Tiago Apolonia – Cedric Nuytinck 3:2 (11:9, 9:11, 11:4, 8:11, 11:8)
Guilherme Teodoro – Li Yongyin 2:3 (11:6, 9:11, 3:11, 13:11, 5:11)
Ricardo Walther – Anders Lind 1:3 (11:8, 4:11, 10:12, 4:11)
Tiago Apolonia - Li Yongyin 3:2 (11:8, 9:11, 7:11, 12:10, 11:4)
Ricardo Walther/Guilherme Teodoro - Cedric Nuytinck/Anders Lind 3:0 (11:9, 11:8, 12:10)
TSV Bad Königshofen – Borussia Düsseldorf 1:3
Jin Ueda - Borgar Haug 3:0 (11:9, 11:1, 11:7)
Filip Zeljko - Anton Källberg 1:3 (8:11, 3:11, 13:11, 5:11)
Bastian Steger - Timo Boll 2:3 (11:7, 11:5, 5:11, 6:11, 6:11)
Jin Ueda - Anton Källberg 2:3 (8:11, 11:9, 10:12, 12:10, 9:11)
1. FC Saarbrücken TT – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 3:2
Patrick Franziska - Samuel Walker 3:0 (11:2, 11:8, 11:3)
Cedric Meissner - Yi-Hsin Feng 3:1 (12:10, 11:7, 10:12, 11:6)
Darko Jorgic - Luka Mladenovic 0:3 (7:11, 5:11, 5:11)
Patrick Franziska - Yi-Hsin Feng 2:3 (5:11, 11:5, 8:11, 11:6, 8:11)
Cedric Meissner / Eduard Ionescu - Samuel Walker / Luka Mladenovic 3:0 (16:14, 12:10, 11:6)
TTC OE Bad Homburg – Post SV Mühlhausen
Wednesday, 12. February
19:00 - TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen
All TTBL matches are broadcast live and on demand on Dyn.
Featured image above: Dimitrij Ovtcharov from TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell