Bundesliga

Inspired by an outstanding Benedikt Duda, TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt claimed a fourth straight win on TTBL Matchday 16, beating TTC RhonSprudel Fulda-Maberzell 3:1 away from home. With TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen losing in Bremen at the same time, Schwalbe have now opened up a four-point cushion over the non-play-off places. Duda underlined his class with two emphatic singles victories, while Leo de Nodrest secured the third point for the visitors.

Duda was not surprised by his strong display on Wednesday evening. Even the emphatic win in the No. 1 match-up against Ruwen Filus did not come entirely out of the blue for the Germany international. “I’ve known him since I became a pro, we’ve done so many training sessions together,” Duda told Dyn, explaining the key to his clear straight-sets victory over Filus. Even so, he said he had “great respect for Ruwen, because I know how well he can still play.” Filus agreed that familiarity played a major role. “There was nothing in it for me — he knows me from earlier. I don’t really have an idea what I’m supposed to do there,” the 37-year-old admitted.

Duda had slightly more trouble early on against Jonathan Groth in his first singles. According to Duda, the Dane is “not yet at 100 per cent” after an injury, and as the match went on Groth ran out of steam — the third set of the 0:3 defeat ended 2:11 from Fulda’s perspective. Bergneustadt’s third point came from Leo de Nodrest, who beat Fanbo Meng in four sets, scoring repeatedly with sharp returns. For the hosts, Filus provided the only point of the night with an opening 3:0 win over Adrien Rassenfosse.

Bergneustadt firmly on play-off course

For Bergneustadt, it was not a four-point match, but it turned into a four-point evening. Ochsenhausen’s defeat away to SV Werder Bremen in the parallel fixture means Schwalbe’s advantage over Ochsenhausen and Borussia Dortmund — the first chasers outside the play-off spots — has grown to four points. With a loss, and an Ochsenhausen win, Bergneustadt could have found themselves level again. “Personally, I didn’t see us this high up,” Duda said with a smile, while also sounding a note of caution: “Today was a final on the road to the Final4, and we still have six more finals. In a few matchdays, it can go in any direction.”

Matchday 16 fixtures

SV Werder Bremen – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 3:1
Mattias Falck – Bogdan Pugna 3:0 (11:0, 11:1, 11:5)
Marcelo Aguirre – Shunsuke Togami 0:3 (9:11, 1:11, 7:11)
Kirill Gerassimenko – Andreas Levenko 3:1 (11:8, 11:5, 9:11, 7:11)
Mattias Falck – Shunsuke Togami 3:0 (11:9, 11:7, 12:10)

TTC RhonSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt 1:3
Ruwen Filus – Adrien Rassenfosse 3:0 (11:4, 11:7, 12:10)
Jonathan Groth – Benedikt Duda 0:3 (9:11, 7:11, 2:11)
Fanbo Meng – Leo de Nodrest 1:3 (13:11, 2:11, 6:11, 9:11)
Ruwen Filus – Benedikt Duda 0:3 (5:11, 3:11, 2:11)

Borussia Dusseldorf – ASC Grunwettersbach 3:2
Kanak Jha – Hiroto Shinozuka 1:3 (6:11, 11:9, 6:11, 6:11)
Li Yongyin – Tiago Apolonia 2:3 (4:11, 9:11, 11:5, 11:4, 8:11)
Anton Kallberg – Tom Jarvis 3:0 (11:6, 11:4, 11:9)
Kanak Jha – Tiago Apolonia 3:0 (11:8, 11:9, 11:7)
Anton Kallberg/Li Yongyin – Ricardo Walther/Hiroto Shinozuka 3:1 (11:7, 8:11, 11:9, 12:10)

1. FC Saarbrucken-TT – TTC Zugbrucke Grenzau 3:1
Fan Zhendong – Maciej Kubik 3:1 (11:7, 7:11, 11:8, 11:9)
Patrick Franziska – Samuel Walker 3:1 (11:7, 7:11, 11:8, 11:9)
Cedric Meissner – Martin Allegro 1:3 (8:11, 8:11, 11:4, 5:11)
Fan Zhendong – Patrick Baum 3:1 (11:6, 5:11, 11:5, 11:6)

TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – Post SV Muhlhausen 2:3
Jo Yokotani – Ovidiu Ionescu 2:3 (14:12, 14:12, 10:12, 6:11, 2:11)
Ivor Ban – Kay Stumper 3:1 (11:5, 2:11, 11:4, 11:1)
Csaba Andras – Marcos Freitas 3:1 (10:12, 11:9, 11:6, 11:8)
Juan Perez – Kay Stumper 0:3 (2:11, 8:11, 8:11)
Ivor Ban/Csaba Andras – Ovidiu Ionescu/Marcos Freitas 0:3 (11:13, 7:11, 8:11)

Borussia Dortmund – TSV Bad Konigshofen 1:3
Anders Lind – Bastian Steger 3:1 (7:11, 11:8, 11:7, 11:9)
Adam Szudi – Xue Fei 1:3 (11:6, 5:11, 5:11, 5:11)
Kristian Karlsson – Andre Bertelsmeier 1:3 (7:11, 11:8, 8:11, 10:12)
Anders Lind – Xue Fei 0:3 (7:11, 7:11, 7:11)

Picture: Benedikt Duda of TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt (Photo: Sven Kubeile)