Status date: November 13, 2024. Authors: Petra Philippsen
Werder’s top player Mattias Falck was in very strong form in the cup quarter-finals against Fulda. Image: Imago | Patrick Wichmann
The Bremen team around top player Mattias Falck managed the small sensation and knocked the big favorites Fulda with Dimitrij Ovtcharov out of the cup 3-2.
At the end it was suddenly pretty quiet in the Fulda sports hall. The spectators were hoping for a gala from their table tennis star Dimitrij Ovtcharov, who was supposed to lead the big favorites against Werder Bremen into the cup semi-finals. And that seemed to be expected, after all Bremen had suffered a bitter 3-0 defeat against Fulda in the Bundesliga barely two weeks ago. And Ovtcharov wasn’t even there.
But late on Tuesday evening it was the Werder players who loudly cheered their furious 3-2 coup and shouted their joy at their first entry into the cup semi-finals in six years through the shocked hall.
Ovtcharov wins twice – but in vain
Werder coach Cristian Tamas wanted to use the surprise effect in Fulda – and he succeeded in an impressive way.
“Above all, we really wanted revenge,” Tamas emphasized to buten un withinn, “that 3-0 loss in the league two weeks ago really hurt us.”
And so Werder came into the cup duel with a surprising lineup and extremely motivated players.
We fully assumed they would use Gerassimenko as number one and Falck in doubles. Bremen played very well and deserved to win. My two points are of no use today.
Fulda’s table tennis star Dimitrij Ovtcharov at Dyn
But Tamas had used Mattias Falck as number one, newcomer Andrej Putuntica as number two and Kirill Gerassimenko as number three. All three delivered very strong performances, no comparison to the performance from two weeks ago. Putuntica offered Ovtcharov considerable resistance at the start, but was only able to win the first set.
Werder takes a 2-1 lead
The 36-year-old Ovtcharov is currently ranked 18th in the world. and continues to hold the table tennis record with his total of six Olympic medals. It was clear that he felt “tired and worn out” at the end of a very long season, but an exceptional player like him bites again in important games like these.
In the second match, Falck had the dangerous Taiwanese Kao Cheng-Jui completely under control with 3-0 and Gerassimenko also improved after losing the first set against Fanbo Meng to an unchallenged 3-1 victory. Werder were now 2-1 ahead and the unrest in the hall was noticeable. Falck was now able to secure a place in the semi-finals in the top duel against Ovtcharov – and both delivered a table tennis spectacle at its finest.
World-class duel between Ovtcharov and Falck
After 1:1 in the sets, the two former top ten players continued to climb up. Falck was able to take the third round with 13:11, and in the fourth and fifth they showed rallies at an absolute world-class level. Both could have won this thriller and deserved to win. Ovtcharov had a bit more luck and narrowly won 11:8. “Mattias played incredibly well,” praised Tamas, “that was just great.”
But the score was 2:2 and the double had to decide this cup thriller. Falck, as a former world and European doubles champion, was not allowed to play as number one. When Tamas went to the referee’s desk with his line-up sheet, he initially received incredulous looks from his coaching colleague Qing Yu Meng. “He was very surprised and asked what I wanted in the lineup,” said Tamas.
“An incredible performance from the boys”
But he made the right decision and took Fulda by surprise again. Gerassimenko and Putuntica played a furious doubles against Fanbo Meng and Kao. Although they ended up needing seven match points, this 3-0 win was a real demonstration. “I didn’t think that Kirill and Andrej would play so well,” Ovtcharov had to admit afterwards. “Werder is a real top team and has an absolute leading player in Mattias. And in the end they put on a really strong double. Wow.”
At Werder, the relief was as great as the joy: “On the sixth attempt, we finally made it to the Final Four,” Falck told buten un binnen, “I couldn’t be happier right now. What an achievement from everyone in the team “We’re going to celebrate that tonight.” Coach Tamas was also in a celebratory mood after the thrilling cup thriller.
I’m glad the plan worked today. It was an incredible performance from the boys. When we play like that, we are dangerous for every team.
Werder coach Cristian Tamas at buten and within
The cup semi-finals, the so-called Final Four tournament, will take place on January 4, 2025 in Neu-Ulm. The cup winner will be determined there. In addition to Werder Bremen, Ochsenhausen and Bad Homburg have already qualified. Saarbrücken and Cologne are still fighting for the fourth and final starting place.
TTC Rhönsprudel Fulda-Maberzell – SV Werder Bremen 2:3
Dimitrij Ovtcharov – Andrei Putuntica 3:1 (11:13, 11:4, 11:9, 11:6)
Cheng-Jui Kao – Mattias Falck 0:3 (9:11, 9:11, 6:11)
Fanbo Meng – Kirill Gerassimenko 1:3 (11:8, 10:12, 6:11, 5:11)
Dimitrij Ovtcharov – Mattias Falck 3:2 (5:11, 11:5, 11:13, 11:7, 11:8)
Meng/Kao – Gerassimenko/Putuntica 0:3 (10:12, 6:11, 10:12)
2021/2022 2021/2022 Playoffs 2022/2023 2022/2023 Playoffs 2023/2024 2023/2024 Playoffs 2024/2025
1st matchday 2nd matchday 3rd matchday 4th matchday 5th matchday 6th matchday 7th matchday 8th matchday 9th matchday 10th matchday 11th matchday
Show
Game plan
Table
More about table tennis:
Those: buten un inside.
This topic in the program:
Sportblitz, November 13, 2024, 6:06 p.m
