Mainz's sign of life against Neu-Ulm
1.FSV Mainz 05 has not yet given up the fight to stay in the league. The last team in the table defeated TTC Neu-Ulm 3:1 at home on Matchday 16 of the German Table Tennis League (TTBL).
Before the 16th matchday, the promoted team was already separated by six points from the non-relegation zone. Of the remaining seven TTBL matches, the Rheinhessen team would have to win at least three to have a chance of staying in the league - assuming their rivals remain without further success. A difficult undertaking.
Mainz's hopes rest on Yuto Muramatsu, who made his first appearance of the second half of the season after overcoming injury against Neu-Ulm. And the Japanese player delivered immediately. As in the first leg, he contributed two singles victories for his colors, although he still had to struggle with slight teething problems in the 3:1 (9:11, 11:6, 11:8, 11:4) win over Lev Katsman. But at the latest in the top singles against Vladimir Sidorenko, the Japanese player's engine was running at full speed again. The score was 3:0 (11:7, 11:9, 11:7) after three one-sided sets. Luka Mladenovic contributed the third point for the promoted team against Maksim Grebnev, but had to fend off a total of five match points from the young Russian in sets four and five before he was able to make efficient use of his first chance to win the match.
Comments on the game
Luca Mladenovic, 1. FSV Mainz 05: "Yuto is so incredibly stable. After losing the first set, he changed something and then just played really well. My compliments. Now it's on to Düsseldorf. That will be tough, of course, but with Yuto in this form, a lot is possible."
Lev Katsman, TTC Neu-Ulm: "We are all disappointed, of course. It's hard to find words now. I had a good start in my singles against Yuto, but he got stronger and stronger. It was a close match. We will analyze it and hopefully do better next time."
Grenzau receives Königshofen
At the end of the 16th matchday of the TTBL, TSV Bad Königshofen will host TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau on Monday, February 06 at 7 pm. You can see all games live on the channels of Spontent on Twitch.
The 16th matchday in overview
1. FSV Mainz 05 – TTC Neu-Ulm 3:1
Yuto Muramatsu – Lev Katsman 3:1 (9:11, 11:6, 11:8, 11:4)
Carlo Rossi – Vladimir Sidorenko 1:3 (12:10, 4:11, 8:11, 9:11)
Luka Mladenovic – Maksim Grebnev 3:2 (11:7, 3:11, 4:11, 16:14, 12:10)
Yuto Muramatsu - Vladimir Sidorenko 3:0 (11:7, 11:9, 11:7)
TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – ASV Grünwettersbach 3:0
Romain Ruiz – Deni Kozul 3:2 (8:11, 11:5, 11:6, 3:11, 11:3)
Benedikt Duda – Tiago Apolonia 3:0 (12:10, 15:13, 11:8)
Omar Assar – Xi Wang 3:0 (11:4, 11:8, 11:9)
Post SV Mühlhausen – SV Werder Bremen 1:3
Daniel Habesohn – Kirill Gerassimenko 2:3 (11:9, 16:14, 11:13, 14:16, 12:14)
Irvin Bertrand – Mattias Falck – 2:3 (11:9, 11:8, 2:11, 7:11, 10:12)
Ovidiu Ionescu – Christian Pletea 3:1 (11:7, 11:13, 13:11, 11:9)
Daniel Habesohn – Mattias Falck 0:3 (4:11, 8:11, 10:12)
1. FC Saarbrücken TT – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell 3:0
Patrick Franziska - Fan Bo Meng 3:0 (11:3, 11:6, 11:4)
Cedric Nuytinck - Alexandre Cassin 3:1 (11:9, 9:11, 13:11, 13:11)
Darko Jorgic - Chun Ting Wong 3:2 (8:11, 11:5, 12:10, 9:11, 11:8)
TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – Borussia Düsseldorf 1:3
Samuel Kulczycki – Anton Källberg 2:3 (6:11, 11:4, 11:9, 7:11, 7:11)
Can Akkuzu – Dang Qui 0:3 (7:11, 6:11, 17:19)
Alvaro Robles – Danny Heister 3:0 (11:4, 11:0, 11:0)
Samuel Kulczycki – Dang Qui 0:3 (5:11, 7:11, 3:11)
Monday, February 6
7 p.m.: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – TSV Bad Königshofen