Matchday 4: Will the series of Ochsenhausen and Düsseldorf last?

Before the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) enters the World Cup break, the 4th matchday is scheduled for Sunday and Monday. The focus will not only be on the long-distance duel between TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen and Borussia Düsseldorf for the top of the table, but also on the rematch of last year's semifinal between 1. FC Saarbrücken TT and Post SV Mühlhausen.

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen - 1. FSV Mainz 05

Three games, three wins: The start of the season could not have gone much better for TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen. After narrowly missing out on the play-offs in the previous season, the four-time German champions are back in top form just in time for the start of the new season of the Tischtennis Bundesliga (TTBL) and are now looking forward to a reunion with a former player: Yuto Muramatsu played for Ochsenhausen from 2016 to 2018 and is now a key player at 1. Mainz showed at their last appearance in Mulhouse that they are a force to be reckoned with and that they should not be taken lightly," warns TTF coach Fu Yong. The Mainzer namely sold themselves in the first three TTBL plays of the club history in each case expensively, on past Monday they forced Mühlhausen up to the double. However, the Rheinhessen team is still waiting for its first victory in the Bundesliga.

1.FC Saarbrücken TT - Post SV Mühlhausen

When 1. FC Saarbrücken TT and Post SV Mühlhausen met last season, there was usually a lot at stake. Both in the cup semifinals and in the semifinal play-offs of the TTBL the two teams dueled - and in each case the FCS kept the upper hand at the end. Mühlhausen now wants to take revenge for this on Sunday from 3 p.m. and has arrived in time for the showdown with the runner-up in the season. In the Champions League, the Thuringians succeeded in reaching Stage 2, then in the TTBL with the 3:2 against Mainz the first win of the season, and today, Saturday, Post SV entered the cup quarterfinals with a 3:0 at 1. FC Cologne. But Saarbrücken is also in good shape: After the surprising 1:3 opening defeat in Grenzau, victories against Neu-Ulm (3:1) and in Fulda (3:0) followed.

TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau - TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt

The season so far has been in step for TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau and TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt: both teams got their first win on the first match day - Grenzau with 3:1 against Saarbrücken, Bergneustadt with 3:1 against Mainz -, both lost twice afterwards and are now at 2:4 points each. "Feng Yi-Hsin is already playing at a very good level. Maciej Kubik has shown what he can do. If now also Patrick Baum finds to his game, and that will happen with increasing game practice, then we will be able to show further strong games as a team and also bring in more points," says Grenzau coach Slobodan Grujic before the duel with Bergneustadt. For this encounter, by the way, Grenzau have proclaimed the "Day of the Coaches". This means that spectators who have a coach's license - no matter which club, no matter which sport - will receive a 50 percent discount on the ticket.

Borussia Düsseldorf - ASV Grünwettersbach

6:0 points, 9:0 games - the defending champions have made the perfect start to the new season. After the 3:0 victories against Mühlhausen, Mainz and Bremen, Borussia Düsseldorf now aims for the next success against ASV Grünwettersbach in order to go undefeated into the cup round of 16 on Thursday and then into the World Cup break. Andreas Preuß, however, warns against the opponent: "ASV has sold itself short so far," says the Borussia manager with regard to the 2:4 points of Grünwettersbach. "The team has strengthened with the signing of Tiago Apolonia and will still win some games. I believe that this will be our toughest match so far." Especially since the preparation did not go optimally: While Dang Qiu trained in Düsseldorf, Anton Källberg played at the WTT tournament in Kazakhstan, Kay Stumper at the U21 World Championships in Romania, and Timo Boll is still plagued with a thigh injury.

TTC Neu-Ulm - TSV Bad Königshofen

For two and a half games, TSV Bad Königshofen still had its problems in the new season. Last Saturday, however, the team from Lower Franconia turned around a match that was already thought to be lost and was finally able to celebrate its first win of the season: Filip Zeljko brought Bad Königshofen back into the match against Grünwettersbach, Yukiya Uda celebrated his first win in his second TTBL singles match, and finally the doubles team of Kilian Ort/Martin Allegro ensured a 3:2 victory. The fact that even the flu-related absence of Bastian Steger could be compensated for impressively demonstrates the increased quality of the squad compared to last year. As is well known, TTC Neu-Ulm has also strengthened its team and, with 4:2 points and a place in Stage 2 of the Champions League, can look back on a successful start to the season - in which, in addition to the superstars, the youngsters from Russia were also convincing, for example Vladimir Sidorenko in the recent 3:1 against Grenzau.

SV Werder Bremen - TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell

SV Werder Bremen's winning streak came to an end last matchday. The Hanseatic team lost 0:3 in Düsseldorf and thus conceded the first defeat of the season - but despite the clear result, they again sold themselves dearly. Accordingly, those responsible in Bremen should be satisfied with the 4:2 points from the first three games. TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell, on the other hand, fell somewhat short of their own expectations with 2:4 points, as Fanbo Meng recently admitted in our interview, and is now aiming for its second win of the season. It could well be a long evening: Three of the most recent four duels between the two teams went all the way to doubles, where Fulda retained the upper hand in each case; Werder won the other match 3:1. "I think it will be an open and typical 50:50 match, in which small things will make the difference in the end," says Meng.

The 14th matchday in overview

Sunday, September 18
2 p.m.: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – 1. FSV Mainz 05
3 p.m.: 1. FC Saarbrücken TT – Post SV Mühlhausen

Monday, September 19
6.30 p.m.: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
7 p.m.: Borussia Düsseldorf – ASV Grünwettersbach
7 p.m.: TTC Neu-Ulm – TSV Bad Königshofen
7.30 p.m.: SV Werder Bremen – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell

You can see all the games live on Spontent's channels on Twitch.