The “TTBL Player of the Month” for September: Csaba Andras (TTC OE Clarity Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg)
In a social media poll, fans of the German Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) were able to vote for their “TTBL Player of the Month” for September based on performances in the TTBL as well as on the international stage at WTT events. Among five candidates, Csaba Andras (TTC OE Clarity Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg) came out on top ahead of Wim Verdonschot (Borussia Dortmund), Iulian Chirita (TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen), Dang Qiu (Borussia Düsseldorf) and Dimitrij Ovtcharov (TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell).
Csaba Andras could almost take to the table as a club of his own in the German Table Tennis Bundesliga. The Hungarian from TTC OE Clarity Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg has recorded seven wins in nine singles matches – as many as the entire Post SV Mühlhausen team after five matchdays. After his nine singles matches so far, only one player had a better record at the start of the TTBL’s late-September break: Olympic champion Fan Zhendong, who remains completely unbeaten for Borussia Düsseldorf, but has not recorded more wins than Andras either (7–0).
On paper, the TTBL community primarily rewarded Csaba Andras’ four-match winning streak in September. The 24-year-old secured two notable victories against Danish top-20 player Anders Lind (Dortmund/3–2) and European Championship runner-up Benedikt Duda (TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt/3–0). However, his selection as “Player of the Month” was likely also, at least in part, recognition for his August victories over Fulda’s experienced players Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Jonathan Groth, as well as his surprise victory over former European champion Qiu at the Europe Smash in Malmö.
Andras’ impressive performances are not limited to the start of his third TTBL season. The right-hander recently won WTT Feeder titles in Croatia and Turkey. In the world rankings, Andras has climbed around 100 places within twelve months and is now knocking on the door of the top 50.
One factor behind the Hungarian’s remarkable rise has been his improved mental strength. After three years, his work with a specialist in this important area of high-performance sport is now showing the desired results, as Andras himself has finally taken the decisive step mentally.
His new coach in Bad Homburg, Slobodan Grujic, also credits his leading player with the necessary sense of responsibility and growing self-confidence. The successor to Andras’ formative coach and mentor Helmut Hampl is particularly impressed by the Hungarian’s strong serves and dangerous backhand, as well as by the qualities of the former U21 European Championship runner-up. “Csaba,” says Grujic, “is already a pretty complete player.”
Florian Manzke