Seventh Win: Düsseldorf beats Grenzau and takes sole lead

Borussia Düsseldorf is the only team still undefeated in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL): On Match day #7, the record champion secured a 3-2 victory at TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau despite a depleted roster and is now the sole leader.

Without Fan Zhendong and Dang Qiu, Borussia Düsseldorf took on TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau on Monday evening but ultimately emerged victorious. With this hard-fought 3-2 win, the record champions are the only undefeated team in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL). Following TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen’s 1-3 loss the previous day to TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg, Borussia is now the sole leader in the standings; with 14-0 points, Düsseldorf sits ahead of Ochsenhausen (12-2) and 1. FC Saarbrücken TT (10-4), which won 3-1 at ASC Grünwettersbach on Sunday. For Grenzau, it was their first loss after two consecutive wins. With 6:8 points, the TTC sits in seventh place.

“It’s always really nice to come here,” said Düsseldorf’s Kanak Jha, who played for Grenzau during the 2019–20 season. “The crowd really got the crowd going. I think, all in all, it was a wonderful evening for the players and for the fans as well.” Regarding Borussia’s ambitions, the 26-year-old said, “Of course we have big goals, but there are a lot of strong teams in the league.”

Anton Källberg and Li Yongyin celebrate in doubles

Borussia found themselves trailing on several occasions on Monday, but always managed to find the right response against a strong Grenzau team. This was also the case in doubles: Anton Källberg and Li Yongyin initially found themselves down 0-1 in sets, but then gradually worked their way back into the match. They eventually took a 10–6 lead in the fourth set and immediately converted their first match point to win 3–1, sealing a 3–2 victory for the visitors.

Earlier, Grenzau had led twice during the singles matches and had reason to dream of another victory. Feng Yi-Hsin defeated Li 3-0, and Liam Pitchford secured his fifth win in five singles matches for the TTC with a 3-0 victory over Källberg. Jha was responsible for both comebacks: The American first defeated Samuel Walker 3-0, then came back from a 0-2 set deficit to beat Feng 3-2 in the top singles match.

The next match in the Table Tennis Bundesliga is already scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, November 10. Starting at 7 p.m., Post SV Mühlhausen will host TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell. This match and all other TTBL matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.

Match day #7 at a glance

TSV Bad Königshofen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt 1:3
Bastian Steger – Benedikt Duda 0:3 (9:11, 7:11, 6:11)
Filip Zeljko – Romain Ruiz 3:0 (11:2, 11:7, 11:8)
Andre Bertelsmeier – Cedric Meissner 1:3 (12:10, 15:17, 8:11, 7:11)
Bastian Steger – Romain Ruiz 1:3 (9:11, 10:12, 11:9, 7:11)

ASC Grünwettersbach – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT 1:3
Tom Jarvis – Hugo Calderano 0:3 (10:12, 9:11, 7:11)
Florian Bluhm – Eduard Ionescu 3:2 (11:6, 3:11, 4:11, 11:9, 11:8)
Tobias Hippler – Alvaro Robles 1:3 (6:11, 11:9, 8:11, 9:11)
Tom Jarvis – Eduard Ionescu 2:3 (7:11, 11:9, 11:4, 8:11, 8:11)

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg 1:3
Iulian Chirita – Finn Luu 3:0 (11:3, 11:7, 11:7)
Bogdan Pugna – Csaba Andras 0:3 (2:11, 5:11, 3:11)
Daniel Berzosa – Juan Perez 1:3 (11:13, 11:7, 8:11, 7:11)
Iulian Chirita – Csaba Andras 1:3 (4:11, 12:10, 9:11, 5:11)

TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – Borussia Düsseldorf 2:3
Feng Yi-Hsin – Li Yongyin 3:0 (11:7, 12:10, 11:6)
Samuel Walker – Kanak Jha 0:3 (3:11, 8:11, 6:11)
Liam Pitchford – Anton Källberg 3:0 (11:7, 12:10, 14:12)
Feng Yi-Hsin – Kanak Jha 2:3 (11:9, 18:16, 6:11, 6:11, 6:11)
Maciej Kubik/Martin Allegro – Anton Källberg/Li Yongyin 1:3 (11:7, 7:11, 8:11, 6:11)

Tuesday, November 10
7 p.m.: Post SV Mühlhausen – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell

Wednesday, November 11
7 p.m.: SV Werder Bremen – Borussia Dortmund

Header photo: Borussia Düsseldorf's Kanak Jha (by Jörg Fuhrmann)