Matchday 5: Summit meeting in Düsseldorf, basement duel in Mulhouse

The Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) returns from the break with a lot of excitement: Five matches of matchday 5 are scheduled for Sunday, including the summit clash between Borussia Düsseldorf and TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen as well as the basement duel between Post SV Mühlhausen and TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell. The match day will be concluded on Monday with the duel between TSV Bad Königshofen and TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau.

ASV Grünwettersbach - SV Werder Bremen

Even though ASV Grünwettersbach currently finds itself in the lower half of the table, the team from Baden is by no means dissatisfied with its start to the season. "Apart from the game against Bad Königshofen, we are on target," said manager Martin Werner recently in our interview. "It's also positive that we reached the quarterfinals in the cup. Overall, there is actually no noticeable negative trend in the TTBL despite the two defeats recently." Nevertheless, in view of 2:6 points, a win would do the team good, otherwise Grünwettersbach would probably find itself in the relegation zone of the Tischtennis Bundesliga (TTBL) after the match day. The start of the season was completely different for SV Werder Bremen, which is currently in fifth place with 6:2 points and only had to admit defeat to Düsseldorf. The Bremen side also put in a strong showing during the October break, with Mattias Falck advancing to the quarterfinals of the WTT Champions tournament, beating Tomokazu Harimoto and Anton Källberg along the way.

TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt - TTC Neu-Ulm

A very special day awaits TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt: Benedikt Duda has been wearing the jersey of his home club for 19 years and can look back on numerous successes. On Sunday, however, the 28-year-old will serve for the first time as runner-up for Bergneustadt in the TTBL after sensationally winning the silver medal with the German team at his World Championship debut in October. However, the "Swallows", who started 4-4, will probably need this quality against their upcoming opponent. After all, TTC Neu-Ulm has no less than three top international players who also impressed during the recent TTBL break. Truls Moregard and Lin Yun-Ju reached the semi-finals of the WTT Champions Tournament, Dimitrij Ovtcharov the WTT Cup Finals.

1. FSV Mainz 05 - 1st FC Saarbrücken TT

The 1. FSV Mainz 05 went into the TTBL break with a bang: After three unsuccessful attempts, the promoted team achieved the first TTBL victory in the club's history with a 3:1 win in Ochsenhausen. The Mainz team should now be correspondingly motivated against the reigning runner-up: "We are going into our match against Saarbrücken with a broad chest and the same determination and ambition as in Ochsenhausen," said sports director Tomasz Kasica most recently in our interview. The favorites, however, are of course 1. FC Saarbrücken TT: Although Patrick Franziska and Co. already have a defeat on their record with the 1:3 in Grenzau, they are, as expected, in the top group with 6:2 points. The FCS currently has four wins in all competitions, the most recent being a 3:2 win over Mühlhausen.

Post SV Mühlhausen - TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell

Last season, Post SV Mühlhausen and TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell reached the play-offs, but in the new season, things are not going well at all for either team. While Mühlhausen has only won against Mainz so far, Fulda has only managed a win against Bergneustadt. "We have had to accept too many breaks at the front positions," Fulda's Ruwen Filus recently stated in an interview. The East Hessians only won three singles and therefore find themselves in last place in the table. "We have to get back to the point where we get the matches tighter again at the back. The last place in the table is certainly not Fulda's claim," Filus added. In the previous season, Mühlhausen won both matches 3:2.

Borussia Düsseldorf - TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen

The top match of Matchday 5 will take place at Borussia Düsseldorf: The league leader will receive second-placed TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen on Sunday afternoon and would like to open the upcoming marathon weeks with a win. Until Christmas, the record champion has a total of twelve matches in the TTBL, Cup and Champions League - as well as for Saarbrücken and Neu-Ulm. While Borussia is still unbeaten in the current season, Ochsenhausen recently suffered its first defeat. Against promoted Mainz, the TTF surprisingly lost 1:3. "We will fight hard and see what is possible in Düsseldorf," announced Ochsenhausen coach Fu Yong. "Maybe we can pull off a surprise on Sunday." His Düsseldorf counterpart Danny Heister, who recently extended his contract, explains, "Of course we want to win against Ochsenhausen as well. But we have to think very strategically in the next few weeks, because we only have one chance to get into the Final Four and we also have to deliver a strong performance in the Champions League to become group winner, because only that one will reach the semifinals."

TSV Bad Königshofen - TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau

Right at the start of the season, TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau made a big statement by beating Saarbrücken 3:1. In the following three games, however, the Westerwald team went away empty-handed despite a good performance and is now one of six teams in the bottom half of the table with 2:6 points each. One of these is TSV Bad Königshofen, which recorded its only win of the season so far in a spectacular 3-2 win over Grünwettersbach. "I hope that we can still get a few points in the preliminary round. It would be important for confidence to have a certain number of points by the end of December," Grenzau coach Slobodan Grujic said most recently on the podcast Das Rauschen im Walde. Last season, Bad Königshofen won the home match against Grenzau 3:1, the return match went to Grenzau 3:0.

The 5th matchday in overview

Sunday, November 6
1 p.m.: ASV Grünwettersbach – SV Werder Bremen
2 p.m.: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – TTC Neu-Ulm
3 p.m.: 1. FSV Mainz 05 – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT
4 p.m.: Post SV Mühlhausen – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
5 p.m.: Borussia Düsseldorf – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen

Monday, November 7
7 p.m.: TSV Bad Königshofen – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau