Last year’s Final 4 winners, 1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis e.V., runners-up Borussia Düsseldorf, and semifinalists SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt have all advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League Men. In addition, KS DARTOM BOGORIA Grodzisk Mazowiecki also repeated their success from last week to secure their spot.
1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis e.V. overcame HB Ostrov z.s. once again. This time, Patrick FRANZISKA was absent, while Darko JORGIC returned to the team. However, after two easy game wins against Pavel SIRUCEK, the Slovenian star seemed to run out of steam, losing 2-3 in the end. Nevertheless, after a 3-0 victory in Czechia, Eduardo IONESCU’s two wins over Jiri VRABLIK and SIRUCEK, combined with Cedric MEISSNER’s win against Tomas TREGLER, ensured the defending champions concluded the duel convincingly to reach the quarterfinals.
“It is a very good and important victory for us. Now we are one step closer to the Final 4 and to defending our title,” said MEISSNER. “Edi IONESCU played a very good match tonight. JORGIC was also excellent until the third game, but then it became much harder for him. My win was not as easy as the result suggests. Each game was very close and could have gone either way quickly.”
In the fourth of five matches within twelve days, Borussia Düsseldorf beat SKST Havirov in straight matches. Timo BOLL, who missed the match in Czechia due to a cold, joined Dang QIU and Kay STUMPER at ARAG CenterCourt. Germany’s trio defeated Adam STALZER, Tomas POLANSKY, and Michal BLINKA.
Borussia Düsseldorf now awaits either Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier or SPG Felbermayr Wels in the quarterfinals, with the decision to be made this Sunday.
“It’s never easy to play against seemingly weaker opponents. You have to maintain the same intensity as you would against top players, and I managed that well today. We were clear favorites, and we made that evident tonight,” said Dang QIU.
Timo BOLL added: “I think we performed quite confidently today. Kay’s match was crucial, especially winning that first game. For me, staying focused was the key. Dang’s match was never in doubt. Overall, it was a deserved victory.”
Danny HEISTER, Head Coach, commented: “Congratulations to my team. They performed well, and we achieved our goal with a convincing win. Now we’ll watch Montpellier on Sunday to see who our next opponent will be. Tomorrow, we head to Lübbecke to face Dortmund on Sunday, aiming for a win before our short Christmas break.”
SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt replicated their success from the Czech Republic, beating TTC Ostrava 2016 in the return leg at home. Amirezza ABBASI MONJEZI was the key player, securing two wins over Jakub KLEPRLIK and Piotr CYRNEK. Frane KOJIC overcame Adam KLAJBER, while CYRNEK avenged his narrow 2-3 defeat from last week by beating Ivor BAN.
“We had the same match line-ups as in the opening leg in Ostrava, which suited us well. When we saw the line-ups, we were satisfied because we were already well-prepared tactically and knew what to expect. However, even with that, the Polish player Piotr CYRNEK created a big upset. He played much better against Ivor BAN than he did last week. On the other hand, we have the very dangerous ABBASI, who plays with a ‘grass’ rubber on his backhand side. His specific style of table tennis is difficult for many players to adjust to, as they rarely encounter it. That makes it uncomfortable for anyone to play against us, especially with ABBASI in such good shape,” said KOJIC.
Last season, SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt were surprising semifinalists in the Champions League Men.
“We will be ready for the quarterfinals, no matter who is on the other side—BOGORIA or EL NINO PRAHA. Again, we will play two legs, and we look forward to the opportunity to play in front of our home crowd. We already have great experience playing in Europe. We are a small club compared to the giants in this competition, but we will give our best to reach the Final 4 again,” stated KOJIC.
The last match of the day was played in Poland between KS DARTOM BOGORIA Grodzisk Mazowiecki and SF SKK EL NINO PRAHA. The hosts defeated the Czech side 3-1 to secure their place in the quarterfinals, although the match did not initially seem headed in that direction. Tomas KONECNY beat Marek BADOWSKI in straight games before Panagiotis GIONIS found himself down 0-2 against David REITSPIES. The Greek player managed to recover and win the duel, changing the course of the match. Takuya JIN overcame Martin SIP, and BADOWSKI prevailed against REITSPIES to seal the victory.
“Match was very close. I think Marek was under pressure in the opening match, and he did not play very well. Speaking of my duel, I knew that David REITSPIES plays very well against defense, but I did not expect him to perform at such a high level for the second time in a row. He surprised me a lot. After going down 0-2, I found a better rhythm and improved my psychology. When I won, it created momentum for Bogoria. Takuya seized the opportunity. It was a great game for the spectators, and we will fight for the Final 4,” said GIONIS.
Foto: Jörg FUHRMANN
1 FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis e.V. – HB Ostrov z.s. 3-1
- Eduard IONESCU – Jiri VRABLIK 3-0 (11-7, 11-9,
- Darko JORGIC – Pavel SIRUCEK 2-3 (11-3, 11-7, 8-11, 11-13, 1-6)
- Cedric MEISSNER – Tomas TREGLER 3-0 (11-9, 11-7, 15-13)
- Eduard IONESCU – Pavel SIRUCEK 3-0 (12-10, 11-4, 11-5)
First leg
HB Ostrov z.s.- 1 FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis e.V. 0-3
- Jiri VRABLIK – Yuto MURAMATSU 0-3 (7-11, 8-11, 8-11)
- Pavel SIRUCEK – Patrick FRANZISKA 2-3 (11-7, 5-11, 7-11, 11-9, 2-6)
- Tomas TREGLER – Eduard IONESCU 0-3 (11-9, 5-11, 7-11, 9-11)
Borussia Düsseldorf- SKST Havirov 3-0
- Dang QIU – Adam STALZER 3-0 (11-4, 11-4, 11-5)
- Kay STUMPER – Tomas POLANSKY 3-1 (12-10, 11-7, 13-15, 13-11)
- Timo BOLL – Michal BLINKA 3-1 (11-5, 11-13, 11-5, 11-5)
First Leg
SKST Havirov – Borussia Düsseldorf 1-3
- Tomas POLANSKY – Borgar HAUG 3-0 (12-10, 11-9, 11-1)
- Jan VALENTA – Anton KALLBERG 1-3 (11-9, 10-12, 7-11, 8-11)
- Adam STALZER – Kay STUMPER 0-3 (6-11, 8-11, 8-11)
- Tomas POLANSKY – Anton KALLBERG 0-3 (6-11, 6-11, 8-11)
SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt – TTC Ostrava 2016 3-1
- Amirezza ABBASI MONJEZI – Jakub KLEPRLIK 3-0 (12-10, 11-6, 11-3)
- Ivor BAN – Piotr CYRNEK 1-3 (11-13, 7-11, 13-11, 8-11)
- Frane KOJIC – Adam KLAJBER 3-1 (13-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8)
- Amirezza ABBASI MONJEZI – Piotr CYRNEK 3-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-8)
First Leg
TTC Ostrava 2016 – SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt 0-3
- Piotr CYRNEK – Ivor BAN 2-3 (11-9, 10-12, 6-11, 11-8, 2-6)
- Jakub KLEPRLIK – Amirezza ABBASI MONJEZI 1-3 (6-11, 11-3, 8-11, 12-14)
- Adam KLAJBER – Frane KOJIC 0-3 (6-11, 9-11, 8-11)
KS DARTOM BOGORIA Grodzisk Mazowiecki – SF SKK EL NINO PRAHA 3-1
- Marek BADOWSKI – Tomas KONECNY 0-3 (6-11, 10-12, 3-11)
- Panagiotis GIONIS – David REITSPIES 3-2 (14-16, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 6-4)
- Takuya JIN – Martin SIP 3-0 (11-8, 11-2, 11-8)
- Marek BADOWSKI – David REITSPIES 3-1 (12-10, 12-10, 11-13, 11-1)
First Leg
SF SKK EL NINO PRAHA – KS DARTOM BOGORIA Grodzisk Mazowiecki 1-3
- Tomas KONECNY – Marek BADOWSKI 0-3 (8-11, 6-11, 11-13)
- David REITSPIES – Panagiotis GIONIS 3-2 (7-11, 11-9, 2-11, 11-7, 6-3)
- Martin SIP – Takuya JIN 1-3 (5-11, 6-11, 11-9, 6-11)
- Tomas KONECNY – Panagiotis GIONIS 0-3 (5-11, 4-11, 5-11)
Foto: Jörg FUHRMANN
