Timo Boll (Borussia Düsseldorf): "Neu-Ulm showed us the limits".

Timo Boll was a bright spot in Borussia Düsseldorf's 0:3 defeat in the cup final against TTC Neu-Ulm due to an impressively strong performance in his 2:3 against the World Championship silver medalist Truls Moregardh. Afterwards, the record European champion acknowledged the superiority of the new Cup winner in no uncertain terms and already turned his gaze to the rest of the season in the Tischtennis Bundesliga (TTBL) and in the Champions League.

Timo Boll, what was the decisive factor for Borussia Düsseldorf's clear defeat in the cup final against TTC Neu-Ulm?

It wasn't the form of the day. We had actually shown in the semifinals that we were in pretty good shape. But Neu-Ulm is of a different caliber than Saarbrücken and this time, I think it's fair to say, showed us the limits.

For you, however, a win against Truls Moregardh was well within reach. Why is the young Swede so difficult for you to beat?

Truls is pretty cool for his young age, I have to say. He catches unbelievable balls, and that really gets to you. He is very, very cool and takes his chances, but above all he has a great hand, very, very good serves and is quite variable on the forehand. All in all a good package, I tried it, but unfortunately it was not enough.

What do you mean by 'cool' exactly?

He plays very smart and varies a lot, he tries to unsettle you. But you have to be able to do that if you want to play up there, if you always play the same thing, you won't get far, so that's one of his great qualities. He's also never afraid to play heavy balls in certain situations. Because he dares to do that, he's also very hard to read most of the time. That's something special.

Düsseldorf and you habitually dance at three weddings every season. What does the missed Cup victory mean for the championship and the Champions League? In the top division, your team and Neu-Ulm will soon meet again in the semifinals...

It will definitely be a challenge for us to win a title this season.

If Neu-Ulm was so strong in the cup - what do you want to do differently in further duels?

We have to come up with something to get closer to Neu-Ulm in the important games.