Mühlhausen with signs of life in the relegation battle
Tenth in the table against twelfth - the early match of the eleventh matchday in the German Table Tennis League (TTBL) between TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau and Post SV Mühlhausen was an important duel in the relegation battle. The Thuringians prevailed 3:2 - but what sounds like a hard-fought match was not really, as the individual games were too clear-cut. Mühlhausen is now level on points with Grenzau and - unlike the Westwälder - still has a few games to go before the end of the year.
It was a fast-paced game that the spectators in the Zugbrückenhalle saw between TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau and Post SV Mühlhausen, although the early match of the eleventh match day of the German Table Tennis League (TTBL) was only decided in the doubles. All five matches were played in just two and a half hours. The first three singles matches all ended after three sets, none of the five matches went the full distance of five rounds.
TTC top player Feng Yi-Hsin proved to be too strong for the guests. He beat Ovidiu Ionescu 3:0 to open the match and Steffen Mengel 3:1 in his second singles match. He lost the first set against Mengel by a clear margin of 5:11 before coming through again to save his team in the doubles. However, Grenzau were unable to score more than Feng's two points.
Bertrand celebrates second individual win of the season
Mengel first equalized the match with a 3:0 win against Luka Mladenovic, before Irvin Bertrand gave Mühlhausen its first lead with a 3:0 win against Maciej Kubik. The first round was fiercely contested. Kubik was unable to bring an 8:5 lead to the finish. The Pole did not look completely fresh, so that head coach Slobodan Grujic demanded a combative body language from the 21-year-old during the set breaks. It was only Bertrand's second singles win of the season.
Both faced each other again in the doubles - and again Bertrand prevailed, this time alongside the experienced and successful doubles player Ionescu. Kubik and substitute Patrick Baum were only able to reduce the deficit to 1:2 in the meantime. Bertrand was correspondingly satisfied after the match, but at the same time pointed to the full weeks until Christmas.
While Grenzau goes into the winter break, Mühlhausen still has two Champions League matches and a league game on the agenda. The Bundesliga continues with the remaining four matches of the tenth matchday this weekend. The action continues seamlessly in a week's time with the eleventh matchday.
Click here for the current table: https://www.ttbl.de/bundesliga/table/
Matchday 11 in the overview
TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – Post SV Mühlhausen
Feng Yi-Hsin – Ovidiu Ionescu 3:0 (11:7, 11:7, 11:4)
Luka Mladenovic – Steffen Mengel 0:3 (6:11, 6:11, 7:11)
Maciej Kubik – Irvin Bertrand 0:3 (11:13, 7:11, 4:11)
Feng Yi-Hsin – Steffen Mengel 3:1 (5:11, 11:8, 11:7, 11:9)
Thursday, December 19
7 p.m.: ASC Grünwettersbach – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen
Friday, December 20
7 p.m.: TTC OE Bad Homburg – SV Werder Bremen
Saturday, December 21
5.30 p.m.: TSV Bad Königshofen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
Sunday, December 22
3.30 p.m.: Borussia Düsseldorf – BV Borussia Dortmund
5 p.m.: 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
All TTBL matches are broadcast live and on demand on Dyn.
Featured image above: Irvin Bertrand (Photo: Habel)