National coach jorg robkopf has come up with the "dusseldorf masters" for the time of the corona pandemic, in which besides german national players like timo boll and dimitrij ovtcharov also foreign professionals like swedish kristian karlsson or agyptian omar assar are participating. "The players are very keen on it. They have trained an incredible number of units and are now eager to play," said robkopf.
Record european champion boll was the first of the 16 participants to reach the semifinals on monday. After his opening victory against 19-year-old kirill fadeev from TTC ruhrstadt herne (3:0), the world number ten won against swedish anton kallberg from borussia dusseldorf in the quarterfinals in 3:1 sets. Former world number one dimitrij ovtcharov beat 19-year-old fanbo meng from TTC rhonsprudel fulda-maberzell 3:0.
The tournament in the hall of the german record champion borussia dusseldorf will continue on tuesday with three more quarterfinals as well as the semifinals and the final match. To bridge the time of the international competition break, the "dusseldorf masters" will take place every week until at least august. All games are shown on the internet at sportdeutschland.Tv and on the homepage of borussia dusseldorf.
During the corona pandemic, strict hygienic and logistic requirements must also be met at this tournament. Spectators are not allowed. All participants either live in dusseldorf or train there at the german table tennis center. During a match, there is no changing of sides or handshakes between the players. The balls are regularly exchanged and disinfected.