Saarbrücken scores against Bad Homburg
After two years in the second Bundesliga, TTC OE Bad Homburg celebrated its return to the German Table Tennis League (TTBL) - and the opening match was a real cracker. In the first home match of the 2024/25 season, the club from Hesse faced none other than reigning Champions League winners 1. FC Saarbrücken TT. While Bad Homburg was without the still-injured Akkuzu, Saarland had to make do without its top stars Patrick Franziska and Darko Jorgic, who met in the final of the WTT Contender in Lima at the same time. Led by defensive ace Yuto Muramatsu and the young talents Eduard Ionescu and Cedric Meissner, Saarbrücken beat Bad Homburg 3:2. Bad Homburg, with their new signing, Swedish Olympic silver medalist Kristian Karlsson, and the youngsters Csaba Andras and Yuma Tsuboi put in a strong performance.
Kristian Karlsson kicked off the match for TTC OE Bad Homburg against Cedric Meissner. In a high-class duel, the Swedish top player ultimately prevailed 3:1. After a hard-fought first set, which Meissner won, Karlsson found his game better and better and was able to hold on for the remaining sets (9:11, 12:10, 11:9, 11:7).
Two 5-set thrillers provide suspense
The second singles match of the evening turned into a real thriller. Csaba Andras faced Yuto Muramatsu, and the two played an intense five-set match that was hard to beat in terms of tension. Andras started strongly, but lost the first set by the narrow margin of 10:12. The Hungarian got into the match better in the second set and won 11:6, before also winning the third set 11:9. However, Muramatsu fought back and took the fourth set 11:7. The deciding set turned into a thriller, which Muramatsu won 12:10 in the end to level the match for Saarbrücken.
After a short break, Yuma Tsuboi faced Eduard Ionescu in a hard-fought duel. Tsuboi made a strong start to the match and won the first two sets 11:9 and 11:5, but like his team-mate Muramatsu before him, Ionescu also showed great strength of nerve. The young Romanian fought his way back into the match, won the third set 11:7 and decided a nerve-wracking fourth set 13:11 in his favor after fending off two match points. Ionescu then kept the upper hand in the deciding set and won 11:7 to give Saarbrücken a 2:1 lead.
Karlsson cracks Muramatsu
In the fourth match between Kristian Karlsson and defensive ace Yuto Muramatsu, the silver medalist from Paris proved his skills. Karlsson did not allow himself to be rattled and prevailed 3:1 (11:7, 14:12, 9:11, 11:6). He thus brought TTC OE Bad Homburg back to 2:2 and ensured that the final doubles match would be decisive.
The decision was made between the doubles pairing of Csaba Andras / Yuma Tsuboi and Cedric Meissner / Eduard Ionescu. After three closely contested sets, it was ultimately the Saarbrücken doubles team that was able to celebrate the 3:2 overall victory over TTC OE Bad Homburg (9:11, 10:12, 8:11).
Comments on the match:
Cedric Meissner (1. FC Saarbrücken): “It was a very close match. I made a few easy mistakes against Kristian in the third set when I was leading 8:5. But Yuto won against Caba afterwards and Edi (Eduard Ionescu) was also behind at the beginning, then fought off two match points and played very well in the fifth set. Kristian also played very well against Abwehr. So it was clear to us that the match would probably not end 3:1. Fortunately, we have very good doubles players and won 3:2 in the end.
Kristian Karlsson (TTC OE Bad Homburg): “Of course it hurts to lose. We had a good chance against a top team like Saarbrücken, but we couldn't take it.”
Click here for the current table: https://www.ttbl.de/bundesliga/table
1.st matchday overview
TTC OE Bad Homburg – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT 2:3
Kristian Karlsson - Cedric Meissner 3:1 (9:11, 12:10, 11:9, 11:7)
Csaba Andras - Yuto Muramatsu 2:3 (10:12, 11:6, 11:9, 7:11, 10:12)
Yuma Tsuboi - Eduard Ionescu 2:3 (11:9, 11:5, 7:11, 11:13, 7:11)
Kristian Karlsson - Yuto Muramatsu 3:1 (11:7, 14:12, 9:11, 11:6)
Csaba Andras / Yuma Tsuboi - Cedric Meissner / Eduard Ionescu 0:3 (9:11, 10:12, 8:11)
SV Werder Bremen – Borussia Dortmund 3:1
Kirill Gerassimenko – Cedric Nuytinck 3:1 (8:11, 11:6, 11:9, 11:6)
Marcelo Aguirre – Anders Lind 0:3 (4:11, 7:11, 5:11)
Mattias Falck – Yongyin Li 3:0 (11:9, 11:5, 17:15)
Kirill Gerassimenko – Anders Lind 3:2 (12:10, 9:11, 11:13, 11:7 14:12)
TSV Bad Königshofen – Post SV Mühlhausen 3:0
Bastian Steger - Ovidiu Ionescu 3:0 (11:5, 12:10, 11:4)
Filip Zeljko - Steffen Mengel 3:1 (11:9, 11:5, 9:11, 11:6)
Jin Ueda - Irvin Bertrand 3:0 (12:10, 11:4, 11:3)
Sunday, August 25th
5 p.m.: Borussia Düsseldorf – ASC Grünwettersbach
Monday, August 26th
6 p.m.: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
7 p.m.: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau
All matches in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) are broadcast live and on demand on Dyn.
Featured image above: Eduard Ionescu from 1. FC Saarbrücken TT (Photo: Ulrich Höfer)