Borussia Düsseldorf made it really exciting. After hard work, the team led by Timo Boll narrowly won 3-2 against play-off rivals SV Werder Bremen. In the Table Tennis Bundesliga table, the record champions have settled into second place and gained some breathing room in third place.
Kay Stumper started with a classic false start against Mattias Falck. Only when they were 0-2 down did the WTT Feeder finalist from last weekend find his game better, shortened it to 1-2 and kept the fourth set open for a long time. Nevertheless, the Swede ultimately prevailed and scored the hosts’ first point. “Kay had rubbers that were too thick and had to change his racket shortly before the game,” reveals manager Andreas Preuß. “That unsettled him at first.” Nevertheless, Preuß doesn’t want to use that as an excuse. “Sure, that can happen. But the boys are professionals and need to be better prepared for something like this.”
Timo Boll, in first place today, met Marcelo Aguirre in his first match. Both have never faced each other before. The Düsseldorfer, who is selling out lots of halls on his farewell tour of the table tennis Bundesliga, had hardly any problems with his opponent. The biggest hurdle was converting the match ball. The 43-year-old missed five goals before a short shot at the sixth attempt brought the decision and a 3-0 victory, which meant that Borussia went into the break 1-1.
The game between Kirill Gerassimenko and Anton Källberg was eagerly awaited. Both are among the best players in the league this season. Gerassimenko’s 8:3 record compares to 6:1 victories for the Düsseldorfer – it’s hardly surprising that the game was played at eye level. While the initial phase was dominated by the serve-return game and short rallies, the spectators really got their money’s worth from the middle of the third set. Källberg fights, Källberg shows his fist, Källberg pushes himself – equalized after being 4:8 behind in the third set and unfortunately and narrowly loses the round. And yet he fights his way into the deciding set and earns a deserved 3-2 win, which puts Borussia in the lead for the first time that evening.
In the second game, Timo Boll continues where he left off about an hour earlier. With great enthusiasm against none other than the former vice world champion in singles and world champion in doubles Mattias Falck, he presented himself agile and played as tactically clever as usual. But Boll was only able to win the first set and ultimately lost 1:3 after close sets and a great fight.
With the score at 2:2, the final doubles match took place after 2 hours 50 minutes. The hosts sent Gerassimenko and Andrei Putuntica, who was not used in the singles, into the box, while Borussia fielded Källberg and Borgar Haug. The Bremen combination got the decisive point in the cup quarter-finals against Fulda for a 3-2 win, the Düsseldorf team were successful in the only final double of the season so far against Saarbrücken. So how could it be otherwise? This match also went the full distance of five exciting sets. Particularly annoying for Borussia: In the fourth set, after a 5:1 lead, they didn’t score a point and lost 5:11. Bremen took the momentum into the deciding set and quickly led 6:2. But the two Scandinavians in the red Borussia jersey don’t give up, fight back and take the lead at 7:6. Balance. Guide. Residue. Equalization – a thrilling final phase, at the end of which Bremen misses a match point and Düsseldorf celebrates moments later.
“This victory is worth twice as much against a direct competitor,” said Preuss happily after the match point. “Anton played a great game against Gerasimenko. Everyone was on point and even if they lost, no one could have been blamed. It was great sport in front of a great backdrop.”
Head coach Danny Heister: “We gave everything today. The boys fought really well. I’m incredibly happy that we won the game. I’m really happy for Borgar that he was able to contribute a point in such a crucial game. This is very important for him. As a coach, you want team victories like this.”
TTBL game number 9 is on the program in exactly two weeks. Borussia will then be guests at the TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt (Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 7:00 p.m.).
The results at a glance:
SV Werder Bremen – Borussia Düsseldorf 2:3
Mattias Falck – Kay Stumper 3:1 (5, 8, -7, 7)
Marcelo Aguirre – Timo Boll 0:3 (-8, -5, -12)
Kirill Gerassimenko – Anton Källberg 2:3 (-6, 4, 10, -8, -7)
Mattias Falck – Timo Boll 3:1 (-8, 9, 8, 7)
Andrei Putuntica/Gerassimenko – Källberg/Borgar Haug 2:3 (-8, 6, -4, 5, -10)
Foto: Jörg Fuhrmann
