Saarbrücken through to the next round after a battle of nerves
In a dramatic encounter in the round of 16 of the German Table Tennis Cup, 1. FC Saarbrücken TT narrowly won 3:2 against Borussia Dortmund. Led by Darko Jorgic, who played in top form, the Saarland team secured their place in the quarter-finals - but the path to the final was anything but easy.
The first game between Darko Jorgic and Simon Berglund went the way of the hosts. Jorgic, currently number 15 in the world rankings, dominated the match against the Swede right from the start. With a clear 3:0 victory (11:5, 11:5, 11:5), he set a first exclamation mark for Saarbrücken.
Franziska and Muramatsu both lose in five sets
In the second singles match of the evening, Patrick Franziska faced Yongyin Li, who had joined Dortmund from 1. FSV Mainz this season. Franziska got off to a good start and won the first two sets 11:9 and 15:13, but Li fought back, got into the match better and better and put Franziska under increasing pressure. The turning point came in the third set, which Li clearly won 11:4. From this point on, the Chinese player hardly made any mistakes. The last two sets went 11:6 and 11:8 to Li, who thus equalized the score for Dortmund.
The third game was also a real battle of nerves and went the full distance. Cedric Nuytinck demanded everything from defending champion Yuto Muramatsu. After Nuytinck took a 2:1 lead, Muramatsu forced the deciding set. However, Nuytinck showed stronger nerves there and won 11:7, giving Borussia Dortmund the lead for the first time.
Jorgic keeps Saarbrücken in the game
Once again, it was up to Darko Jorgic to keep Saarbrücken in the race. In his second singles match, he faced Yongyin Li, who had previously defeated Franziska. However, Jorgic also showed his class in this duel. After a commanding first set, he narrowly lost the second, but dominated the following sets (11:5, 9:11, 11:5, 11:9). With his victory, the Slovenian equalized the score at 2:2 and forced the deciding game.
Franziska and Meissner with a spectacular comeback
The match was now to be decided in the doubles. Patrick Franziska and Cedric Meissner took on the Dortmund duo of Cedric Nuytinck and Dennis Klein. After a commanding first set, which the Saarbrücken pair won 11:5, they lost the second set by an equally clear margin of 5:11. The doubles match developed into a gripping thriller that kept the spectators in the hall on the edge of their seats. Franziska and Meissner won the third set in extra time 14:12, but Dortmund equalized again - this time 12:10.
The sensation seemed to be within reach in the deciding set: Klein and Nuytinck were already leading 6:2, and everything pointed to a surprise victory for Dortmund. However, Franziska and Meissner showed nerves of steel at this moment. Point by point, they fought their way back into the game and finally won the set 11:8.
Darko Jorgic from 1. FC Saarbrücken TT was visibly relieved after the game: “It was a long and tough game. We already suspected that Anders Lind wouldn't play for Dortmund today, but the other players are also very good and showed a strong side. We were only a few points away from losing the game. I'm very happy that we stuck together as a team and won in the end.”
The last two round of 16 matches in the German Table Tennis Cup promise to be exciting duels. On Friday evening (20.09. at 19:30), TTV Lampertheim will host TTC OE Bad Homburg, with the hosts hoping for a sensation against the favored first division team. On Saturday (Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.), TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell will face defending champions Borussia Düsseldorf.
Overview of the cup round of 16
1. FC Saarbrücken TT – Borussia Dortmund 3:2
Darko Jorgic - Simon Berglund 3:0 (11:5, 11:5, 11:5)
Patrick Franziska - Yongyin Li 2:3 (11:9, 15:13, 4:11, 6:11, 8:11)
Yuto Muramatsu - Cedric Nuytinck 2:3 (11:9, 5:11, 9:11, 11:7, 7:11)
Darko Jorgic - Yongyin Li 3:1 (11:5, 9:11, 11:5, 11:9)
Patrick Franziska / Cedric Meissner - Cedric Nuytinck / Dennis Klein 3:2 (11:5, 5:11, 14:12, 10:12, 11:8)
TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt 3:2
Hugo Calderano - Frederik Duda 3:0 (11:3, 11:5, 11:1)
Simon Gauzy - Kanak Jha 2:3 (9:11, 11:7, 10:12, 11:9, 8:11)
Shunsuke Togami - Adrien Rassenfosse (11:13: 11:6: 8:11, 8:11)
Hugo Calderano - Kanak Jha 3:1 (7:11, 11:6, 11:5, 11:4)
Simon Gauzy & Shunsuke Togami - Adrien Rassenfosse & Frederik Rassenfosse 3:0 (11:3, 11:5, 11:2)
TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – ASC Grünwettersbach 1:3
Luka Mladenovic - Leo de Nodrest 0:3 (4:11, 7:11, 9:11)
Maciej Kubik - Ricardo Walther 2:3 (12:10, 9:11, 11:8, 5:11, 4:11)
Yi-Hsin Feng - Tiago Apolonia 3:0 (11:8, 12:10, 11:7)
Samuel Walker - Ricardo Walther 0:3 (5:11, 6:11, 7:11)
TSV Bad Königshofen – Post SV Mühlhausen 3:1
Jin Ueda - Irvin Bertrand 3:0 (12:10, 11:9, 11:4)
Filip Zeljko - Steffen Mengel 2:3 (11:9, 5:11, 9:11, 11:6, 9:11)
Bastian Steger - Ovidiu Ionescu 3:0 (11:6, 11:7, 11:9)
Jin Ueda - Steffen Mengel 3:0 (11:9, 11:6, 11:7)
1. FC Köln – TTC Fortuna Passau 3:2
Andre Bertelsmeier - Elia Schmid 3:1 (11:8, 9:11, 11:5, 11:7)
Lleyton Ullmann - Yuki Matsuyama 0:3 (6:11, 6:11, 3:11)
Tobias Hippler - Viktor Yefimov 3:0 (11:8, 11:5, 15:13)
Andre Bertelsmeier - Yuki Matsuyama 2:3 (11:9, 9:11, 11:9, 13:15, 8:11)
Tobias Hippler/Florian Cnudde - Viktor Yefimov/Elia Schmid 3:1 (5:11, 13:11, 11:2, 11:8)
1. FSV Mainz 05 – SV Werder Bremen
John Oyebode - Kirill Gerassimenko 2:3 (11:7, 5:11, 11:7, 5:11, 9:11)
Ole Kaspers - Mattias Falck 0:3 (6:11, 5:11, 8:11)
Albert Vilardell - Marcelo Aguirre 3:0 (11:7, 11:9, 11:6)
John Oyebode - Mattias Falck 2:3 (11:9, 6:11, 7:11, 11:8, 7:11)
Freitag, 20.09. 19:30 Uhr
TTV Lampertheim – TTC OE Bad Homburg
Samstag, 21.09. 19.00 Uhr
TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – Borussia Düsseldorf
All TTBL and German Table Tennis Cup matches (if a TTBL club has home court) will be broadcast live and on demand on Dyn.
Feature picture: Darko Jorgic (Photo: BeLa Sportfoto)