Jorgic twice as strong: Saarbrücken wins duel against Dortmund
1.FC Saarbrücken-TT remains in the race for the play-offs of the German Table Tennis League (TTBL). On match day 19, the Saarland side secured a 3:1 win over Borussia Dortmund in their own hall, thereby clinching an important victory. While Darko Jorgic shone with two commanding performances, Eduard Ionescu became the decisive factor with a strong-nerved comeback victory.
In the first singles match, Saarbrücken's top player Darko Jorgic showed why he is one of the best players in Europe. The Slovenian international left nothing to chance against Dortmund's Erik Bottroff and took an early lead for his team with a clear 3:0 victory (11:3, 11:6, 11:9).
Nuytinck turns the match around against Franziska
The second singles match was a duel between Patrick Franziska and Cedric Nuytinck - a match with two completely different halves. Franziska got off to a strong start, winning the first two sets 11:9 and 11:8 and seemed to be well on his way to winning the match early. The German played variably, used his dangerous backhand and dominated the rallies up to this point.
But Nuytinck adapted his game and fought back impressively. The momentum shifted. He turned the match around with 11:8, 11:7 and 11:7 and took the first point for Dortmund.
Nuytinck was relieved after the match:
“I missed the small chances against Patrick at the beginning and played too loose. After 0:2, I adjusted small things and it got better and better for me.”
Ionescu tipped the scales
With the score at 1:1, the third singles match between Eduard Ionescu and Yongyin Li became a key duel. Dortmund's Li made a concentrated start and won the first two sets 11:9 and 11:8, but the youngster from Saarbrücken was not discouraged and started an impressive comeback. Ionescu took the third and fourth sets 11:3 and 11:5 - suddenly he was the dominant player at the table. In the decisive fifth set, the two played out an open exchange of blows, which Ionescu finally won 12:10. The Saarbrücken player celebrated - his victory put his team back in the lead.
Jorgic puts the lid on it
The fourth and final singles match of the day saw Darko Jorgic and Cedric Nuytinck meet again. While the Belgian had previously celebrated a spectacular comeback against Franziska, he now wanted to do the same against Jorgic and keep Dortmund in the match. Nuytinck took the hotly contested first set 16:14, but Jorgic was not impressed. The Slovenian countered with an impressive 11:2 in the second, but Nuytinck struck back again and won set three 11:7.
What followed was an impressive statement from the Saarbrücken player: with a clear 11:1, he gave Nuytinck no chance in the fourth set and forced the match into the deciding set. Jorgic showed all his experience there. With 11:6, he finally put the lid on the match and secured the 3:1 overall victory for 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT.
Saarbrücken keeps its play-off chances alive
The home win keeps Saarbrücken within striking distance of the play-off places. Borussia Dortmund, on the other hand, are in ninth place and need to score points in their remaining games if they are not to lose sight of the middle of the table.
Saarbrücken continue their campaign next week with a home match against TTC OE Bad Homburg 1987, while Dortmund face SV Werder Bremen, who recently caused a stir with two 3-0 victories.
Click here to see the current table: https://www.ttbl.de/en/bundesliga/table/
Overview of the 19th matchday
1. FC Saarbrücken TT - Borussia Dortmund 3:1
Darko Jorgic - Erik Bottroff 3:0 (11:3, 11:6, 11:9)
Patrick Franziska - Cedric Nuytinck 2:3 (11:9, 11:8, 8:11, 7:11, 7:11)
Eduard Ionescu - Yongyin Li 3:2 (9:11, 8:11, 11:3, 11:5, 12:10)
Darko Jorgic - Cedric Nuytinck 3:2 (14:16, 11:2, 7:11, 11:1, 11:6)
SV Werder Bremen - TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt 3:0
Mattias Falck - Adrien Rassenfosse 3:0 (11:8, 11:5, 11:6)
Andrei Putuntica - Kanak Jha 3:1 (12:10. 7:11, 11:7, 11:7)
Kirill Gerassimenko - Benedikt Duda 3:0 (11:7, 11:7, 11:9)
Post SV Mühlhausen - TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 3:2
Daniel Habesohn - Samuel Walker 3:1 (11:5, 5:11, 11:8, 11:8)
Irvin Bertrand - Yi-Hsin Feng 1:3 (11:7, 4:11, 9:11, 11:13)
Steffen Mengel - Luka Mladenovic 3:1 (10:12, 11:8, 11:2, 11:4)
Daniel Habesohn - Yi-Hsin Feng 1:3 (8:11, 11:7, 6:11, 8:11)
Irvin Bertrand / Steffen Mengel - Samuel Walker / Luka Mladenovic 3:2 (11:7, 9:11, 11:5, 22:24, 11:4)
Borussia Düsseldorf - TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell 3:0
Anton Källberg - Ruwen Filus 3:1 (7:11, 11:9, 11:5, 11:7)
Dang Qiu - Kao Cheng-Jui 3:0 (11:5, 11:2, 11:8)
Borgar Haug - Dimitrij Ovtcharov 3:0 (12:10, 11:6, 11:7)
Sunday, 2. März
17.00: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen - ASC Grünwettersbach
Monday, 3. März
17:30: TSV Bad Königshofen - TTC OE Bad Homburg
All games will be broadcast live and on demand on Dyn.
Feature picture above: Darko Jorgic from 1. FC Saarbrücken TT. (Photo: Ulrich Höfer)