Saarbrucken have suffered defeat in the second round of the ETTU Cup final agains Liebherr Ochsenhausen in three games to one, but an overall score of four games to three on aggregate was enough for the hosts to claim the title.
Bastian Steger celebrating the final point - Photo by: Roscher
Just like two weeks earler, Slovenia’s Bojan Tokic had the opportunity to open the match, in the first leg he was able to overcome former Olympic champion Ryu Seung Min however this time it was England’s young rising star player Liam Pitchford who was standing at the opposite end of the table. Pitchford is currently ranked at world number 56 in comparison with Tokic who is currently ranked at number 44, with very little between them it was sure to be an interesting game and that it was. The Englishman was able to take the first set, after a battle in the second set Tokic was able to level the playing field at 1-1, before long Pitchford managed to claim the lead again but Tokic was quick to respond and had a 8-0 lead in the fourth set before taking the set 11-3. In the final set it was Tokic who seemed to be in control for the majority of the set however in the last few points Liam was able to come back and finish the match in style stealing the first point for his team Liebherr Ochsenhausen in this year’s final.
Next onto the table were Bastian Steger and Kirill Skachkov, this was a much more one sided match as Bastian Steger was able to dominate the first two sets before finishing off a more closely fought third set edging his team closer to the title.
Portugal’s Tiago Apolonia was next and he was to face frenchman Simon Gauzy, the match got off to a flying start and it wasn’t long until the players were tied with one set each, however the Portugal player failed to take the next set as Gauzy won the next two sets. It was Kirill Skachkov who managed to post victory for the host club after a thrilling five set match but unfortunately for Liebherr Ochsenhausen it was just a consolation as Saarbrucken are the new ETTU Cup champions.
Saarbrucken – Liebherr Ochsenhausen 1:3
Bojan Tokic – Liam Pitchford 2:3 (6-11, 12-10, 10-12, 11-3, 15-17)
Bastian Steger – Kirill Skachkov 3:0 (11-8, 11-8, 12-10)
Tiago Apolonia – Simon Gauzy 1:3 (6-11, 11-5, 10-12, 5-11)
Bojan Tokic – Kirill Skachkov 2:3 (11-13, 11-5, 5-11, 11-6, 8-11)
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Source: ETTU.org
Written by: Emily Standing
TableTennisDaily
Bastian Steger celebrating the final point - Photo by: Roscher
Just like two weeks earler, Slovenia’s Bojan Tokic had the opportunity to open the match, in the first leg he was able to overcome former Olympic champion Ryu Seung Min however this time it was England’s young rising star player Liam Pitchford who was standing at the opposite end of the table. Pitchford is currently ranked at world number 56 in comparison with Tokic who is currently ranked at number 44, with very little between them it was sure to be an interesting game and that it was. The Englishman was able to take the first set, after a battle in the second set Tokic was able to level the playing field at 1-1, before long Pitchford managed to claim the lead again but Tokic was quick to respond and had a 8-0 lead in the fourth set before taking the set 11-3. In the final set it was Tokic who seemed to be in control for the majority of the set however in the last few points Liam was able to come back and finish the match in style stealing the first point for his team Liebherr Ochsenhausen in this year’s final.
Next onto the table were Bastian Steger and Kirill Skachkov, this was a much more one sided match as Bastian Steger was able to dominate the first two sets before finishing off a more closely fought third set edging his team closer to the title.
Portugal’s Tiago Apolonia was next and he was to face frenchman Simon Gauzy, the match got off to a flying start and it wasn’t long until the players were tied with one set each, however the Portugal player failed to take the next set as Gauzy won the next two sets. It was Kirill Skachkov who managed to post victory for the host club after a thrilling five set match but unfortunately for Liebherr Ochsenhausen it was just a consolation as Saarbrucken are the new ETTU Cup champions.
Saarbrucken – Liebherr Ochsenhausen 1:3
Bojan Tokic – Liam Pitchford 2:3 (6-11, 12-10, 10-12, 11-3, 15-17)
Bastian Steger – Kirill Skachkov 3:0 (11-8, 11-8, 12-10)
Tiago Apolonia – Simon Gauzy 1:3 (6-11, 11-5, 10-12, 5-11)
Bojan Tokic – Kirill Skachkov 2:3 (11-13, 11-5, 5-11, 11-6, 8-11)
Like and tweet our articles to the World. Lets spread the word of Table Tennis.
Source: ETTU.org
Written by: Emily Standing
TableTennisDaily
