Nine TTBL players at the WTT Champions in Frankfurt - The results so far
Sunday, October 29, 2023 was the day: the WTT Champions tournament in Frankfurt has started and only five players of the best 30 were missing in the men's tournament: among the 32 participants with it also nine players from the Tischtennis Bundesliga (TTBL). Here's how they fared in the Round of 32 on the first two days of the tournament....
Lee Sang Su vs. Timo Boll (Borussia Düsseldorf) 3:1
Unfortunately, the crowd favorite Timo Boll could not convince at the start and was hard on himself: "I would have wished a bit more from me, I am very disappointed." With his big goal of the 7th Olympic participation in mind, the player from Düsseldorf wants to attack again in the next tournaments and show himself from a better side: "Today was not a good recommendation from me," said Boll, "but fortunately there will be no nomination tomorrow."
The TTBL-internal duel Darko Jorgic (1. FC Saarbrücken) vs. Dang Qiu (Borussia Düsseldorf) 0:3
After Darko Jorgic and Dang Qiu had to play each other twice in the Champions League final and also faced each other in the Liebherr TTBL final and Dang Qiu was able to win these three matches, the player from Düsseldorf went into the duel as the favorite and was also able to defeat the Slovenian from Saarbrücken this time. The match went 0:3 (8:11, 8:11, 8:11) for Dang Qiu.
The French duel Simon Gauzy (TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen) vs. Felix Lebrun 2:3
The 17-year-old Frenchman, who is currently turning the table tennis world upside down and can now be found in the top 10 of the world rankings, was first down 1:2 against the Ochsenhausen player Gauzy, but managed to fight his way into the fifth set. There the TTBL player had to admit defeat against the youngster and was eliminated from the WTT Champions with 2:3 (11:7, 8:11, 11:7, 7:11, 7:11).
Anton Källberg (Borussia Düsseldorf) vs. ex-Bergneustadt player Omar Assar 1:3
Last season, Anton Källberg and Omar Assar met twice in the TTBL, with both players winning one each. Also in the world ranking Anton Källberg (rank 17) and Omar Assar (rank 20) are very close to each other, so there was not really a big favorite in advance. The former TTBL player of TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt won the match 1:3 (7:11, 11:6, 7:11, 9:11). He is expected in the next round none other than Ma Long.
The next TTBL-internal duel Mattias Falck (SV Werder Bremen) vs. Ruwen Filus (TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell) 3:2
While Ruwen Filus is always a force to be reckoned with, Mattias Falck, the top scorer of last season (28:8), who has a 6:2 record this season and won a WTT Contender in the summer, was the favorite in the duel. The match was a back and forth affair with relatively clear sets. In the end Mattias Falck won 3:2 (7:11, 11:5, 8:11, 11:7, 11:4) and advanced one round, where he will meet Dimitrij Ovtcharov.
Lin Yun-Ju vs. Patrick Franziska (1. FC Saarbrücken TT) 3:2
Patrick Franziska had a very good start into the match and was leading 0:2, winning both sets in overtime. After that Lin Yun-Ju could turn the tide and won the next three sets in Fulda and could thus solve his ticket for the round of 16.
Benedikt Duda (TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt) vs. Anders Lind 3:0
The TTBL player showed himself in very strong form and defeated the Norwegian 3:0 (11:9, 11:6, 11:9). In the next round he will play Lin Yun-Ju. This makes him the third TTBL player besides Mattias Falck and Dang Qiu and also the third German national player besides Dang Qiu and Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the round of 16.